Markets & Policy

The GCL System chief executive made comments that fly in the face of an expected solar gold rush in China that analysts predict will start this month. Though rising overseas demand will address overcapacity fears, according to Luo, the soundbite is sure to chill PV boardrooms across the world’s biggest solar market.

A solar energy capital in regional Victoria, a community power hub and a renewable energy auction, these are just some of the innovative and sustainable solutions being celebrated at this year’s Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards.

On August 9, a thunderstorm caused 1.5 GW of generation capacity to go offline within seconds in the U.K. The incident caused millions of households to temporarily lose power but the situation could have been considerably worse if not for the country’s battery storage reserves.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has today announced funding to United Energy, a Victorian distribution business, in order to trial a voltage-reduction demand response in an effort to deliver grid stability over the Australian summer.

At a CEDA event exploring ‘Opportunities in the Future Energy Market’, AEMO’s Audrey Zibelman and a lineup of energy thought leaders highlighted the need to value firming services in the new asynchronous energy market, and heralded real-time visualisation of grid and asset performance in the form of digital replicas of the NEM and WEM.

A vanadium redox flow battery will be installed at a family-owned apple orchard located in Pakenham on the edge of the Gippsland region to complement onsite solar.

Plans to develop a 18 GWh lithium-ion battery factory in northern Queensland have received a major boost with the appointment of National Australia Bank as financial adviser. With the feasibility study nearing completion, project proponents expect the development application to be submitted to Townsville City Council over the coming months.

The STA has warned Italian company Fimer, which is set to acquire Swiss company ABB’s inverter business, it will have to honor customer service commitments made to its British members, and voiced fears related to historic quality issues with ABB inverters.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) released its Affordability in Retail Energy Markets report today. The findings show a disproportionate energy cost burden on low-income households and its impact in driving uptake of rooftop PV.

With the 200 hydrogen bikes offered to journalists and world leaders at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France proving popular, manufacturer Pragma Industries has received an order for 1,000 of them from Chilean president Sebastian Pinera. The company’s founder, Pierre Forté, wants the bike to have a societal impact in developing countries.