Residential PV

New releases, a confluence of auspicious milestones, and output growing by gigawatts gave Trina Solar in Australia cause to celebrate at All-Energy this week.

A new study has calculated that the globalised PV module supply chain has saved billions for PV installers in Germany, the US and China. It also found that if strong nationalistic policies that limit the free flow of talent and capital were implemented going forward, solar panel costs would be 20-25% higher by 2030.

A commercial and residential solar installation company with diversified interests as a developer of some of Australia’s biggest solar farms, Leeson Group is now taking a high-performance, Australian-engineered solar roof tile to the global market.

Speakers at the CEC All-Energy conference in Melbourne have prioritised the built environment as ripe for embedding higher efficiency and sustainability standards.

Melbourne-based renewable energy company Leeson Group has unveiled an Australian-engineered roof solar PV tile that it describes as the highest energy generating solar tile in the world, with a solar efficiency of up to 19.3%.

Scientists from the Central European University in Hungary have estimated the global technical potential of photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) energy production by using a high-resolution geospatial model.

West Australian smart solar glass developer ClearVue has made the move into the residential housing market, securing its first order to supply its power-generating solar PV windows for a luxury residence being constructed in the Australian Capital Territory.

Ambitious government targets and commitments by both private and state-owned companies will propel renewable energy installations.

World-beating Australian solar technology company SunDrive has completed a new $21 million (USD 13 million) funding round which will help commercialise its revolutionary solar cell technology that replaces silver with copper to improve solar panel efficiency and reduce costs.

A German startup backed by major European entrepreneurs and brands this week began the first of many strategic acquisitions in Australia, seeking to create a cross-country network and become a ‘one stop shop’ for renewable technologies with a major marketshare. Chris Williams, the founder of Natural Solar and now the CEO of 1komma5’s APAC arm, told pv magazine Australia the goal is to become the “Apple store of energy” – an opportunity he believes is well within reach given the institutional capital and scale behind the German outfit.