Residential PV

Solar generation in Australia’s main electricity grid has surged to record highs with the latest data from the Australian Energy Market Operator revealing that rooftop solar generation increased 30% in the second quarter of 2023 while grid-scale solar output rose by 37%.

Researchers in Canada have found that nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) with on-site solar energy generation should not exceed an energy use intensity (EUI) of 50 kWh/m2a, which they said corresponds to a maximum of 10 floors. They also ascertained that the maximum permitted EUI by net-zero energy status is 17–28 kWh/m2a.

A grid-connected community battery has gone live in Sydney’s western suburbs with New South Wales electricity distributor Endeavour Energy trialling the technology as a means to maximise the benefits of rooftop solar generation and more efficiently manage supply and demand in the network.

Scientists in China have proposed to use an algorithm that simulates the behaviour of foraging bees to shape a new grid-forming inverter design. The approach is designed for both grid-connected and islanded inverters.

Queensland electric vehicle charging technology startup Evos has unveiled its first home charger, a 7 kW wall-mounted device designed to add up to 35 kilometres of range to an electric vehicle for every hour it’s plugged in.

A team of engineers at the University of New South Wales say they have developed a new, more effective method for recycling end-of-life solar panels that allows them to quickly and efficiently separate 99% of PV cell component materials.

The Australian government has launched a new study that will explore opportunities for onshore manufacturing of solar panels and components in a bid to strengthen solar supply chains and better support the country’s energy transformation.

Through the procurement exercise, the GEA-BEAC allocated 1,870.8 MW of ground-mounted PV capacity and 90 MW of floating solar power. The selected developers will secure 20-year power purchase agreements.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency says solar technology is mature enough and sufficiently cost effective to meet Australia’s 2030 renewables goals but a step change in efficiency and cost is required to support the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors such as industry and transport.

A new report released by Australia’s national science agency shows that renewables, led by large-scale and rooftop solar, remain the cheapest form of new-build power generation in Australia despite a 20% average rise in technology costs.