Markets & Policy

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.

New South Wales transmission network operator Transgrid plans to spend $16.5 billion (USD 11.22 billion) to grow the state’s power system over the next decade to ensure the “secure operation” of the grid at up to 100% instantaneous renewables.

The Australian government has backed the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to lead the transformation of the nation’s energy grid infrastructure by signing off on a $20.5 billion (USD 13.94 billion) increase in investment capital for the federal government-owned ‘green bank.’

Scientists in Belgium are exploring the potential of recycled silicon in solar modules at the end of their life cycle for reuse in low-cost, higher-energy-density storage technologies. They claim EV batteries using this silicon may allow faster recharging and travel longer distances on a single charge.

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.

Australia’s federal government has released its anticipated Critical Minerals Strategy, and while the document decisively flags industry imperatives and challenges, the plan of action and policy solutions are far more hazy.

China’s Bslbatt says its new batteries have 10.24 kWh of storage capacity and a nominal voltage of 51.2 V. It measures 700 mm x 980 mm and is 100 mm thick.

The CSIRO has run an internal ‘Shark Tank’-style competition which will see it test semi-transparent, printed solar films at its greenhouses to assess whether the technology can be used to enhance crops’ growth and cut emissions.

Sydney company Key Energy has installed a three-phase flywheel energy storage system at a residence east of Perth, WA. The 8 kW / 32 kWh system was installed over two days in an above-ground enclosure, dramatically cutting the time needed to install the flywheel system.