Markets & Policy

Australia is on the cusp of a residential battery storage boom. The Climate Council published the forecast last week in its Fully Charged: Renewables and Storage Powering Australia report. BNEF confirms with pv magazine Australia that as a result of the rapid growth, Australia is alongside Germany as the fastest growing market for residential battery storage.

A New South Wales energy management company has won ARENA’s funding for a smart swimming poll pilot project, which holds a promise to both manage peak demand and save pool owners up to 30% of their household electricity use.

The South Australian Labor Party has increased its Renewable Energy Target to 75% by 2025. It also plans to introduce a target of meeting 25% of the state’s peak electricity demand with stored renewables – equating to 750 MW of storage capacity.  

1,200%. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, that’s how high imports of Chinese modules rose in the fourth quarter last year, in a desperate attempt to stockpile sufficient numbers before tariffs choked off international supplies.

Onshore wind and solar PV will go head-to-head for the first time in a new 200 MW tender in Germany. Bids for solar PV ground-mounted projects and onshore wind farms can be submitted to the Federal Network Agency by April 3.

There is absolutely no doubting that the installation rate of solar PV, both rooftop and utility scale, is growing extremely quickly. An exciting development, yeah, but installed capacity isn’t likely to double in 2018.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has delivered its latest detailed energy policy review to the Australian Federal Government. It points to changing policy at the Federal level as having failed Australia’s energy transition and consumers, and argues for the need for a framework to be put in place for 2030.

The NSW government doubled the number of approved utility-scale solar projects in the previous year, and got off to a promising start to 2018.

With all eyes still on the world’s largest lithium-ion battery at the Hornsdale wind farm, South Australia now readies to raise the game with its first big battery built in conjunction with a solar farm.

Issuing a call for action, a report commissioned by the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies outlines Australia’s opportunity to expand along the estimated $2 trillion lithium chain in the next two years.