Installations

With the COP28 climate summit in Dubai resulting in a pledge of at least 11 TW of renewables generation capacity by 2030, Bruce Douglas, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA), examines the outcomes of the conference and their likely impact on the solar industry.

Tweed Shire Council says its grid electricity consumption has dropped by 11% last year because of improved energy efficiency and additional solar projects. Together, both contributed to an overall emissions reduction of 19%.

Data center specialist AirTrunk has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) under which it will procure energy from a 29.99 MW solar farm that ib vogt is now developing. Construction on the project is set to begin later this year.

During a state visit with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Feb 8, Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister James Marape welcomed Australia’s recent completion of the construction of two new solar farms in West Sepik and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has called for the establishment of a $2 billion (USD1.3 billion) national fund to retrofit and electrify low-income homes with solar, to reduce energy bills, minimise poverty, and make progress towards Australia’s emissions reduction targets.

Decades of mismanagement have eroded trust in South Africa’s state-owned energy utility, Eskom. Last year, households and businesses suffered daily blackouts of up to 10 hours, or even longer. Solar and battery energy storage are booming but a domestic PV manufacturing industry has yet to materialize.

While facilitating utility-scale solar farms co-existence with agricultural land near transmission networks is an ongoing challenge in Australia, in Southeast Asia similar problems is resulting in the growth of floating PV (FPV) installations.

The future is bright for community solar finds Arcadia, a utility data technology provider, in a new report. The report says the success of community solar is a result of US states strengthening support programs, federal legislation increasingly being implemented, and that billions of dollars are being invested in solar projects for all income levels.

Energy forecasting and managing company Proa is rolling out its technology at two Northern Territory (NT) defence facility solar farms, with positive implications for scheduling solar energy commitments with certainty.

The Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas sources 10 MW of off-site solar, as well as wind, geothermal and hydroelectric power, among other sustainability measures.