Residential PV

The Amortisator app, initially developed for the German market, is now available on the Apple and Google Play stores. Primarily targeting customer advisors, the app can be accessed for a monthly fee of €9.99 ($10.93).

Solar Analytics, an Australian solar energy analytics company, is offering a new service that allows solar owners to retrieve consumption data directly from retail meters, eliminating the need for additional consumption metering. Known as Integrated+, the release to all eligible homes in the National Electricity Market (NEM) follows a trial in Victoria. 

Solar levelized cost of electricity will reach less than $45 (USD 30) per MWh in 2050 as global capacity grows 22-fold, said DNV.

Construction has started on Western Australia’s second grid-scale battery in Kwinana as the state government looks to scale up energy storage capacity to support its planned transition from coal-fired power to renewables.

Western Australia’s virtual power plant Project Symphony pilot has been boosted by the commission of a new community battery in the Perth suburb of Harrisdale.

Sofar, a China-based inverter and battery manufacturer, has introduced a new series of microinverters for balcony solar arrays and rooftop PV systems. They have a 97.5% efficiency rating and offer between 500 VA and 2,400 VA of rated power.

A time-motion study by United States Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows that retrofitting installations of roof-integrated PV takes 7% less labour time than standard solar installations. For new construction, the installation time drops by 44%.

The South Australian government is calling for input from industry and consumers to help it determine what role rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles, green hydrogen and other renewable technologies will play in its future energy system.

The Clean Energy Regulator is calling for applications from individuals and organisations to serve as the product listing body that will be responsible for publishing and maintaining lists of approved solar panels and inverters eligible for use in Australia’s solar rebate program.

Over the next five to 15 years, batteries will undercut the business case for major transmission and interconnector projects. These assets will nonetheless likely be built, decreasing price spreads and eating into the revenues of batteries, solar and storage analyst Warwick Johnston predicts.