Legal

Compulsory acquisition letters have been sent to landowners along the route of the Central-West Orana transmission link this week by the state’s Renewable Energy Zone planner, EnergyCo. It marks the beginning of the formal negotiation process for the transmission line, which has yet to be put on public exhibition.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has published a document outlining principles to permit the use of rooftop PV. The new policy replaces a monthly capacity fee for rooftop systems, with a tariff calculated based on an intricate formula.

The Brookfield consortium looking to acquire Origin Energy has lodged its merger application with the ACCC, arguing the takeover is in the national interest since it will accelerate Australia’s decarbonisation. The application also flags investment figures as high as $30 billion (USD 20 billion), up from the $20 billion previously flagged.

The Clean Energy Regulator has, for the first time, sought to disqualify a solar installer from the small-scale renewable energy scheme (SRES), effectively Australia’s solar rebate program. It has also commenced civil proceedings against a solar and electrical installation company and its two directors.

With copper prices rising, inflation driving up the cost of living, and organised criminal gangs stepping up operations in the United Kingdom and across Europe, solar project owners need to be more conscious than ever of security, reports Max Hall.

The Australian Energy Regulator has handed down its final decision on when electricity networks are permitted to impose zero export limits on rooftop solar systems. The answer: almost never.

Australia federal Labor government has approved 11 new renewable energy and transmission projects in since the election in May 2022. There are currently another 95 renewable projects under assessment.

A Victorian solar installer that ignored a seven-metre fall risk on a job site in Geelong has been convicted and ordered to pay almost $40,000 after pleading guilty to three charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Western Australia will now offer rural and metro-area residents in its main grid the same electricity supply. The move comes after a seemingly innocuous rule change saw regional customers unable to run their air conditioning at the same time as their cooktops – a drama pv magazine Australia first reported in July 2022 which led to sustained community pressure.

US solar was disrupted in 2022, with module seizures delaying projects due to strict laws designed to stamp out alleged forced labor practices in sections of the Chinese PV industry. However, it remains to be seen whether seizures affected such alleged practices.