Markets & Policy

The modular solar marketplace is growing, especially in Australia where remote mining and agricultural sites appreciate the benefits of compact, moveable solar. One new entrant is Western Australia’s CDI Energy with its “Rapid Solar Module”, which CDI founder and CEO Darryl Bower told pv magazine is up to 30% cheaper than fixed axis alternatives.

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures’ (FRV) Australian platform includes 637 MW (DC) in projects already operational or under construction, and a pipeline comprising 7 GW of solar projects and 1.3 GWh of battery storage.

Renewable generation is now the cheapest source of electricity, but for many C&I users accessing green energy is a complex proposition. The Victorian Government wants to retain and attract more businesses, build more renewable energy, create more jobs — is a market facilitation platform the next piece of the puzzle?

Big rooftop PV systems on factories, warehouses and public buildings need not be limited by ownership issues nor local grid capacity, claims Australian innovator EleXsys Energy. The company is maxing out an Ikea in Adelaide, Australia, with solar and storage. And it claims its smart technology can allow the same to be done elsewhere.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed he will travel to Scotland for the United Nations COP26 international climate conference later this month, signalling an about-turn after he had previously indicated he might not attend the talks.

Supermarket giant Coles will be 100% powered by renewable energy in less than four years’ time after the company announced the last of the power purchase agreements needed to meet the ambitious target were signed this week.

Octopus Energy and RES have announced a new partnership under which they plan to invest GBP 3 billion (AU$5.5 billion) in the construction of green hydrogen plants throughout the United Kingdom by 2030.

The French energy group has invested an undisclosed sum in Vietnam’s SkyX Energy. The goal is to install 200 MWp of C&I PV rooftop capacity in the country.

With Prime Minister Scott Morrison under increasing pressure to back a 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target before the United Nations’ COP26 climate conference in Glasgow at the end of the month, a new report indicates the federal government can capitalise on state and territory efforts to keep the global 1.5°C goal in play.

A Victorian solar installer has been fined $500,000 for a string of workplace safety breaches, including a 2019 incident where a worker suffered serious injuries after falling through a skylight.