Installations

Australia is a world leader in the uptake of rooftop solar but the head of Queensland-based renewable energy company REA Global has labelled the nation’s solar installation standards out of date and unsafe.

Plans to construct a 100 MW solar PV farm and battery energy storage facility at Gillman in South Australia have been scrapped after proponent Veolia failed to ‘meet milestones’ attached to the renewable energy project.

Victorian company Commodore Australia has evaluated how much customers save by using solar water pumps compared to diesel or mains-connected pumps. Based on its calculations, the smallest solar water pumps save customers between $480 to $610 per year, with that figure growing to a staggering $35,117 to $44,837 for the largest pumps.

Australia’s second ‘solar broker’ has entered the market, essentially aiming to link customers with reputable solar installers. With a keen focus on regional Australia, the Solar Saviour startup is looking to grow by engaging country communities and building after-care based referrals schemes, a method its Head of Partnerships, David Cobb, told pv magazine Australia Australia’s solar industry has under-utilised.

Smart energy software company Evergen will provide an energy management platform as part of a net-zero energy emission terrace homes pilot at Carseldine Village, north of Brisbane.

The promise of solar windows have captivated scientists and engineers for decades. Now, West Australian company ClearVue says it not only has a fully transparent, scalable, industry-ready solar window in production, but it’s just 18 months away from cracking 5% efficiency, thanks to a research partnership.

Australian energy retailer AGL will roll out almost 100 rooftop solar PV systems at St Vincent de Paul Society sites throughout Victoria in a move expected to slash more than $1 million off the not-for-profit group’s annual electricity bill.

The Clean Energy Regulator has reaffirmed the urgent need for changes to how the national electricity grid and market operate with a new report predicting the nation could add another 20 GW to an already surging rooftop solar sector by 2025.

South Australia water utility SA Water continues to make a splash in the solar PV sector, commissioning two new solar arrays with a combined capacity of 176 kW at its facilities in Mount Gambier as it pursues an ambitious agenda to neutralise the energy costs of its operations.

Spanish EPC Gransolar Group’s four member companies across the entire value chain are combining on its first hybrid power plant. The 5 MW solar + storage hybrid power plant near Dalby, Queensland, will supply solar energy to grid service provider Ergon while also taking advantage of all the other revenue streams available to energy storage projects.