Markets

Private sector fossil fuel spending on exploration is drying up just as modest rises in clean energy investments are being observed. With stock market investors increasingly embracing renewables, the IEA has observed positive signals in its latest energy investment report, but warned we are still doing far too little to keep global heating at bay.

Module manufacturers have once again adjusted their prices upwards. This is already the third or fourth price increase in the last six months, and there is no end in sight, writes Martin Schachinger of pvXchange. But why is it so hard to achieve long-term, sustainable development in the global solar market, at least on the part of manufacturers? Few other industries are so turbulent, with constant swings between excess supply and bottlenecks, between price collapses and price rises – and always to the breaking point of the market. Yet again, planning security is out the window.

As PV manufacturing lines continue to get larger, keeping track of the measurement data that’s vital for quality and process control becomes an ever more herculean task. Flashing equipment supplier h.a.l.m. has developed a software solution that keeps all of this data in one place and provides operators with a real-time view of production line performance and quality. pv magazine caught up with Managing Director Michael Meixner to discuss the latest on big data in PV manufacturing.

Lightsource bp, the solar arm of oil major BP, has reached financial close on its 107 MW West Wyalong Solar Farm in New South Wales and its 214 MW Woolooga Solar Farm in Queensland, bringing the company’s Australian pipeline to over 1.5 GW (DC) and exhibiting the strength of green investment strategies.

Australia’s largest renewable energy zone is one step closer to fruition with the New South Wales Government calling for registrations of interest from developers of solar PV, wind and energy storage projects.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial analysis (IEEFA) has published a report in which it points to seven key lessons energy planners the world over can take from South Australia’s extraordinary renewable energy integration. However, even South Australia, IEEFA’s model, still requires thoughtful planning and policy for the path forward.

Australia’s single axis tracker market has been deemed “highly concentrated” with just two companies, Nextracker and Array Technologies, commanding 77% of the market, the equivalent of 5.8 GW AC, according to analysis from Rystad Energy RenewableCube.

New South Wales’ Productivity Commission has called on the state to reform its energy and water regulations, among other recommendations, in the White Paper report published this week.

Chief Executive of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Darren Miller, says he envisions a future where Australia will produce up to ten times more clean electricity than the country requires to become a “shining example of what is possible if you have the right ingredients and the right ambition.”

The New South Wales government has today launched a renewable Renewable Gas Certification Pilot, with the aim of sparking a new energy market for clean gas in Australia.