Legislative fix provides a little array of regional sunshine
The best laid plans can go awry, as a recent well-intended amendment to laws governing small-scale solar installations in NSW demonstrated. Action by the NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment, spurred by a determined solar entrepreneur, have saved developers of ground-mounted solar a stack of time and money.
WA community battery rollout continues: Tesla battery launched in Port Kennedy
The Western Australia government has installed the state’s sixth grid-connected community PowerBank battery, taking the total number of shared battery storage systems on the Western Power network to 13.
Self-cleaning PV system with active cooling tech
An international research group has developed a self-cooling PV system featuring a 250 W 60-cell polycrystalline module and a thermal collector attached to the back side of the panel. The cleaning tech is based on a microcontroller programmable integrated circuit, which controls a rotating DC motor.
Epho to construct Canberra’s first community solar farm
Canberra’s first community solar farm, the Majura Valley Community Solar Farm, is a step closer to reality after Epho signed on to design and construct the farm. The solar farm is the development project of SolarShare, a group of local community investors.
Sun Metals to build NQ’s first renewable hydrogen plant
The developer of Australia’s first utility-scale industrial solar project will now build North Queensland’s first renewable hydrogen facility at its zinc processing plant with the help of a $5 million Queensland government grant.
Grid connection approval for 720 MW solar farm coupled with massive battery
A massive solar+storage project nearby Uralla in the New England region of New South Wales has locked in a grid connection agreement with Transgrid.
NT Rooftop Solar in Schools rolls out as VIC looks to follow suit
The Northern Territory’s rollout of solar panel installation at 25 schools is picking up speed, and Victoria is looking to follow suit after announcing the application period open for its Greener Government School Buildings program following the success of a pilot program.
CER reports significant decline in potentially unsafe PV systems
A very small number of PV systems installed on Australian rooftops are considered to be potentially unsafe, the Clean Energy Regulator’s new report finds. Water entering DC isolators is identified as the greatest risk and the most common cause of PV system failures.
Risen Energy signs 150 MW Australian distribution agreement
Chinese module supplier and project developer Risen Energy has signed its largest distribution agreement in Australia with One Stop Warehouse looking to bring new products to the market, including its ultra-high-power 500 Wp+ solar modules.
Cleantech Solar secures Asia Pacific’s largest ever C&I green loan
Singapore-based commercial and industrial solar developer Cleantech Solar has secured a US$75 million in green finance from ING Bank, the Asia Pacific’s largest ever C&I solar green loan. As the world’s fastest growing electricity market, South East Asia is crying out for this kind of investment.
