Installations

The levelized cost of energy generated by large scale solar plants is around $0.068/kWh, compared to $0.378 ten years ago and the price fell 13.1% between 2018 and last year alone, according to figures released by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Solar plants are now expected to last 32.5 years and have operational costs of $17 per kW/year, as shown by a Berkeley Lab survey of industry participants.

Covid-19 crisis has provided system operators with insights on keeping the grid stable with high levels of renewable penetration. Post Covid-19, this may be the new norm, Gautam Adani said in a LinkedIn post recently.

Photon Energy Australia has been busier than a face-mask factory lately, and shows no signs of stopping after winning a tender for a 3 MWp hybrid solar power plant from North East Water to help power the Wodonga Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Ever stood outside looking up at your rooftop solar PV system and wondered: “Are those panels giving me their best?” Well, Solcast has a free solar PV performance checking tool that can give you a solid estimate of your PV system’s performance. After all, if something is amiss, you don’t want to wait until you receive an engorged electricity bill to find out.

The continuing dominance of the small-scale solar sector and the great potential for regional and rural jobs are just some of the findings in the Clean Energy Council’s “Clean Energy At Work”, a first-of-its-kind extensive report into the current renewable energy workforce and its potential over the next 10-15 years.

Australia’s rooftop PV fleet continues to grow in the face of uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of the pandemic, posting another big month above 200 MW. Mega-household solar systems are growing in popularity, but retailers and installers can see the storm clouds gathering.

Okra Solar, the Aussie startup we last saw delivering solar mini-grids to remote communities via a shared ping-pong table, is emerging from Covid-19 lockdown with new investors and two new pieces of tech that will better enable solar energy access to the 900 million people around the world still lacking power.

An additional $2.9 million from the Australian Government’s Outer Islands Renewable Energy Project (OIREP) is making its way across the sea to the kingdom of Tonga in the form of solar power plants and energy storage. The project is helping Tonga to achieve its target of generating 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and 70% by 2030. 

The International Energy Agency has acknowledged dramatic falls in energy investment caused by the Covid-19 crisis but said renewables, including PV, offered an attractive proposition to investors as the dust settled, given their enticing economics and short turnaround times.