Markets

Hanergy displayed the newest rendition of its 18.7% Thin Film Flat SOLARtile in Australia last week as it gears up for the U.S. and global product launch later in 2019.

More than 11 million PV inverters will be shipped in 2019 alone, and most of these will be connected to a software platform and controlled by the inverter companies. This creates an opportunity for suppliers to create new models and revenue sources, writes Cormac Gilligan, research and analysis manager at IHS Markit. And indeed, in recent years inverter suppliers have been rapidly developing ‘Internet of things’ software platforms to take advantage of this.

An online platform to connect medium to small-scale solar energy producers with independent electricity buyers will launch in the coming months in South Australia.

New global PV additions reached 94.2 GW in 2018, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Asia is the region with the largest share of cumulative PV capacity, with around 274.6 GW, followed by Europe and North America with 119.3 GW and 55.3 GW, respectively.

In a briefing looking into the renewable energy investment boom, BIS Oxford Economics estimates solar and wind will attract $20 billion of private investment in FY18 and FY19, spread over more than 70 projects. The consultants warn investment will slow beyond 2020 pointing to the upcoming Federal election as critically important for the future of Australia’s renewables pipeline.

Following the decision to require retailers taking part in the Solar Homes program to be signatories to the Clean Energy Council’s Solar Retailer Code of Conduct, the Victorian government has set specific requirements for inverters that will be installed under the program.

Solar has grown so much that its output exceeded brown coal and gas over the summer months, between 9am to 5pm. New analysis by Green Energy Markets shows that across the whole of summer, renewable energy produced 128% more megawatt-hours of electricity than gas and 23% more than brown coal.

Green hydrogen has been exported from Australia to Japan, under a trial executed by researchers from JXTG, Japan’s largest petroleum conglomerate, using Queensland University of Technology’s cutting-edge solar cell facility at the Redlands Research Facility on the Gold Coast. On top of that, the Queensland government has announced $250,000 in funding towards the establishment a renewable hydrogen production pilot plant.

The Coalition government has announced funding to support up to 50 off-grid and fringe-of-grid feasibility studies investigating whether building a microgrid can be a cost-effective solution. The studies will also look at whether existing off-grid capabilities can be upgraded with more up-to-date technology.

New polling from The Australia Institute shows that almost 70% of South Australian voters regardless of political leanings want to see the state transition to 100% renewable energy by the year 2030.