Installations

United States-based Bluetti has developed a new energy storage system that offers up to 154.8 kWh of storage and 60 kW of output by connecting up to three systems in parallel. It includes an inverter and a voltage controller with up to seven batteries.

Rooftop solar has outshone other renewables in Q3 2024, contributing 38.5% of generation ahead of grid-scale solar, 18.3% and wind,13.4%, while new capacity progressing through the connection phase grew 36% and battery projects, by 87%, compared to Q3 2023.

China-based inverter and battery manufacturer Sofar has identified an increasing shift in the Australian rooftop solar and residential energy storage market, predicting growing demand for fully integrated options.

The Spanish company said that its new tracker “is designed for maximum adaptability to any terrain” and is compatible with all PV modules.

Western Australian transport and logistics giant Centurion is building a fully integrated off-grid energy system including rooftop solar and on-site battery energy storage to help accelerate its shift to electric vehicles.

Labelled the “most difficult” in the world, Australia’s regulatory environment and grid connection process for new large-scale renewable energy generation and storage has also been lauded as the standard bearer for the global market.

Mechanically simple technology designed to maximise utility-scale solar module yield with the removal of soiling will underly SunBrush mobil Germany’s build of a robotic solution for commercial rooftop systems, destined for the Australian market once complete.

The Clean Energy Regulator’s decision to suspend online trading platform Greenbot from participating in the Australian government’s rooftop solar rebate scheme has been reinstated by the Federal Court.

With hailstorms in Australia and the United States severely damaging solar arrays – including “golf-ball sized” hail at the 350 MW Fighting Jays project in Texas in March 2024 – insurers are raising premiums and reducing or canceling hail coverage. Everoze Partner Simon Mason discusses the challenges the industry faces in minimising its hail risk exposure.

While Australia continues to be a revelatory solar market internationally, it lost its place in the top 10 solar installers globally in 2023, the IEA PVPS team reports. According to Renate Egan, Executive Director for the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, it is the first time in 30 years Australia has dropped off that list. “What’s sad is that the rest of the world is now taking off and investing in solar and we’re falling behind,” she said at Melbourne’s All Energy on Thursday.