Markets & Policy

Global renewables contracting giant Sterling and Wilson Solar has warned Australia’s large-scale solar PV industry faces a significant workforce shortage as the nation shifts away from fossil fuels towards renewable power.

Australia’s clean energy industry continued its record-breaking run in 2021 with the wind, solar PV and energy storage sectors steering renewables to an unprecedented 32.5% share of the electricity market but the Clean Energy Council has warned of clouds on the horizon with investment commitments in new large-scale projects slowing.

On Friday, major changes to the regulatory framework surrounding the small-scale renewable energy scheme (SRES), effectively the country’s solar rebate program, will come into force. Pv magazine Australia spoke to Smart Energy Council CEO John Grimes about the changes and how they will impact Australia’s solar players.

Retail giants Kmart, Bunnings, Target and Officeworks have signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Queensland government-owned generator CleanCo to provide the retailers with 100% renewable electricity at their sites across the state.

The International Renewable Energy Agency’s latest global outlook has spelled out just how ‘woefully’ far the world is from capping temperature rises at 1.5C, and lamented: ‘The stimulus and recovery efforts associated with the pandemic have also proved a missed opportunity.’

A West Australian joint venture seeking to recover high-purity vanadium from a steel industry waste product using a carbon negative process has won the support of the European Union. “We’re not the first people to look at that project, but we’re the first people to look at it through a different lens and use this type of process,” Neometals’ General Manager of Commercial and Investor Relations, Jeremy McManus, told pv magazine Australia. The project, which is still in the early stages, is already been sought out by potential offtakers “desperate to secure green vanadium,” McManus added.

The deal between Fortescue Future Industries and E.ON, one of Europe’s largest energy network operators, will see the Australian company deliver five million tonnes of green hydrogen to Germany, the Netherlands and other European cities by 2030. “For us, it’s a minimum $50 billion expenditure. And that is one I welcome,” Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest said at press conference in Berlin overnight.

Renewables, climate change mitigation, the energy transition and Australia’s economic future were all big losers in Tuesday’s 2022-2023 federal budget. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s budget not only fails to provide direct funding for renewable energy projects but actually continues cuts to important institutions, and moreover proves the Morrison government’s belated 2050 net zero emissions plan was merely lip service prior to last year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Australian fossil fuels giant Woodside will invest in US-based concentrated solar startup Heliogen, supporting its construction of a full-scale concentrated solar thermal demonstration plant in California ahead of a push into Australia.

The 70MW project is under development by Silicon Ranch and was launched through utility Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Green Invest program. Plus, pv magazine examines the work of “Solar Protocol” to bring attention to the fact that the internet is not as ethereal as it seems.