Residential PV

According to Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory Co. Ltd, demand for solar PV in China could “effortlessly” surpass 100 GW in 2022, following a year of “flat” demand in 2021. It adds that a “massive overcapacity” situation in the production sector is looming. Meanwhile, the distributed solar PV market is on track for huge growth, with potential for annual demand to reach upwards of 20 GW+ from next year.

Adelaide-based module maker Tindo Solar has notched a win for the Australian manufacturing sector, delivering the panels for a $2.4 million solar PV and battery energy storage program rolled out by the Queensland government.

The Australian Energy Regulator says maintaining a reliable energy supply shapes as a “pivotal challenge” with the nation’s record take-up of rooftop solar PV and investment in large-scale renewables transforming the way the energy market operates.

State body the NEA has given its provincial offices until July 15th to suggest counties where a solar mandate – which rises to at least half of all government roof space – can be rolled out. Selected companies will be awarded whole-county contracts.

Australia is a world leader in the uptake of rooftop solar but the head of Queensland-based renewable energy company REA Global has labelled the nation’s solar installation standards out of date and unsafe.

Smart energy software company Evergen will provide an energy management platform as part of a net-zero energy emission terrace homes pilot at Carseldine Village, north of Brisbane.

Australian energy retailer AGL will roll out almost 100 rooftop solar PV systems at St Vincent de Paul Society sites throughout Victoria in a move expected to slash more than $1 million off the not-for-profit group’s annual electricity bill.

The Clean Energy Regulator has reaffirmed the urgent need for changes to how the national electricity grid and market operate with a new report predicting the nation could add another 20 GW to an already surging rooftop solar sector by 2025.

The contentious two-way pricing reform proposed by the AEMC, dubbed the ‘sun tax’, is based on the understanding that solar is a plaything of the rich. In fact, the inverse may be true, according to a new paper published by the Victoria Energy Policy Centre. But Vinnies’ research manager Gavin Dufty, an instigator of the rule change, told pv magazine Australia such analysis misses the point, branding it ‘myopic’.

A French start-up has developed a concrete flywheel to store solar energy in an innovative way. Currently being tested in France, the storage solution will be initially offered in France’s overseas territories and Africa.