Australia’s massive contribution to global PV, battery uptake blemished by grid woes
Last year, Australia shattered all records in terms of investment in renewables and capacity additions, but a range of concerns for solar PV developers, including network constraints, delays and grid connection issues, are looming over the nation’s clean energy sector, according to an annual overview drafted by global policy network REN21.
Horizon Power beefs up hosting capacity to accommodate more solar
More regional Western Australians will have the opportunity to install rooftop solar panels on their premises with 10 MW of additional renewable energy generation released on Horizon Power microgrids.
Western Power to retrain staff with standalone solar hybrid system skills
WA’s publicly owned grid operator will equip some of its staff with the skills required to install and maintain standalone power systems on the South West Interconnected Network (SWIN). The move reflects the move away from traditional poles-and-wires electricity supply, particularly to regional parts of the state’s Southwest.
There’s a looming waste crisis from Australia’s solar energy boom
As Australians seek to control rising energy costs and tackle the damaging impacts of climate change, rooftop solar has boomed. To manage the variability of rooftop solar – broadly, the “no power at night” problem – we will also see a rapid increase in battery storage.
Australia could install 179 GW of rooftop solar
With Australia amongst the world leaders in solar uptake, a new study finds the nation is currently using less than 5% of the potential capacity for rooftop solar.
AGL’s new virtual power plant to cover four states
On the back of a successful trial in South Australia, AGL is expanding its virtual power plant to other states. Under the program, customers will be able to save up to $280 a year on their electricity bills and be offered an upfront payment of $1,000 towards the cost of their battery.
Solar feed-in tariff for regional Queensland reduced
In the next financial year, solar households in regional Queensland will receive over 16% less for the power they export into the grid.
China confirms $435m solar subsidy budget for this year
The race is on to process applications for central payments across the world’s biggest solar market, particularly as qualifying projects must reportedly be grid connected this year. The final electricity price will be a major competitive factor considered by the Beijing authorities.
PV leads the way as renewables threaten coal-fired power
With clean energy being generated at lower and lower prices around the world, solar power is playing a leading role in bringing the curtain down on coal, and will help the decarbonization of transport and space heating too.
Solar among major winners in Victorian budget
Rebates and zero-interest loans for solar panels, solar hot water systems and batteries account for one of the major spends in Victoria’s 2019/20 budget and come at a cost of $1.3 billion.
