Markets

SEG Solar (SEG), a Texas-based module manufacturer, will lease land in Indonesia for 5 GW of solar cell and 3 GW of PV module capacity.

A panel of experts debated how plausible it is for Australia to enter the battery manufacturing space, and acting-CEO of one of the only companies to produce lithium hydroxide in Australia, IGO, discussed the acute challenges of setting up a refinery onshore during the WA Renewables and Critical Minerals Superpower Summit on Monday.

In two to three years, the number of DER control devices plugged into Australia’s national grid are predicted to hit critical mass, bringing with it the potential for wide-scale ramifications in the event of a successful cyberattack. The second in a two part series, pv magazine Australia outlines what the consequences could involve.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

Helena Li, president of Trina Solar’s global cell and module business, spoke to pv magazine at the recent SNEC trade show in Shanghai about the PV industry’s oversupply challenge. Li said the company is considering opening a factory in Europe and expressed optimism about future cost and price declines.

Historic meteorological data is typically used to assess solar farm yield and secure project finance, but with climate change beginning to affect every aspect of society, past weather data may no longer be a reliable guide. Everoze Partner Nastasia Pacaut looks at how PV projects can be future-proofed in a changing climate.

A $20 million (USD 13.58 million) early works package for the CopperString transmission project that is forecast to unlock 6 GW of renewable energy resources and connect Queensland’s northwest to the national electricity grid has been awarded to CIMIC Group companies UGL and CPB Contractors.

In the second interview of a series held at Intersolar 2023, pv magazine spoke with Karen Tang, Director – Editorial Lead Europe at Singapore-based market research company OPIS, about current price trends in the industry. She said solar panels may soon be bought at an average of USD 0.185/W but she also revealed that offers under USD 0.15/W are now becoming more frequent. Furthermore, Tang said prices may continue to drop in the future, with the bottom line being difficult to determine. Much will depend on the actual manufacturing capacity we will see coming online, which may not match the huge number of recent announcements released by module producers.

Lead times for utility-scale inverter power stations have recently ballooned from around six months on average to as long as 18 months today. Pv magazine Australia spoke to top manufacturers, including SMA, Ingeteam, and others on the compounding causes of the blowouts and what’s to be done.

The changing hands of Australia’s biggest ‘gentailers’ continues, with Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures reducing its stake in AGL, while Macquarie is reportedly in talks to acquire up to a 50% stake in EnergyAustralia.