Markets & Policy

The risks posed to renewable-energy projects by Australia’s uncertain climate change policies and hamstrung regulators, have become a concerning brake on investment. Adjusting settings to reduce those risks would revitalise investor sentiment and vastly reduce the cost of implementing the country’s switch to renewables, says the Clean Energy Investor Group.

Imperatives meet opportunity. Corporate and utility goals for sustainability are driving a new group of investors to pick up the Australian renewable-energy resource and run with it. A new PwC report outlines how the new investor-developer partnerships could work.

Solar product detentions at U.S. ports of entry all stem from a June 24 “Withhold Release Order” issued by Customs and Border Protection.

China’s efforts to shift electricity generation from a coal-dominated system to a greener mix of renewables is not only centred on wind, solar and other technologies – the country is also rapidly pursuing energy storage. Vincent Shaw reports from Shanghai.

As technology redefines the delivery of network services, grid operators in remote areas the world over are searching for more cost-effective and reliable alternatives to traditional poles and wires. Standalone power systems are the solar application that is at the forefront of the switch, and they’re ramping up fast.

Halide perovskites combined with conventional silicon could help solar break the 26% efficiency barrier – disrupting the technology without disrupting business systems.

The Australian government’s green bank has reaffirmed its intent to evolve beyond investing in solar and wind, expanding its focus to include green hydrogen, energy storage and transmission projects after finalising a string of investment firsts in the past 12 months.

An order issued in late June instructed customs agents to detain solar shipments containing silica-based products sourced from a Chinese firm and its subsidiaries. Three solar players may already have been impacted.

Corporate power purchase agreements are the second most adopted purchasing method in the world, and they’re growing fast. With the U.S. and Europe picking up the pace in the last year, the Asia Pacific is not going to be left behind, with Wood Mackenzie estimating corporate PPAs in the region doubled in the last year.

In a campaign style speech, Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, founder of Fortescue Metals and one of Australia’s richest men, outlined his ambition of producing mammoth quantities of green hydrogen, a task he sees as imperative to stop the “planet cooking” while also cornering a market he believes will soon be worth trillions.