CSIRO calls on Australians to contribute to its energy use research
The national science agency has issued a call for “citizen scientists“ to help it understand the way households consume, generate and interact with energy. The data will be collected by means of the new CSIRO Energise app.
Falling battery costs to push solar, wind to 50% electricity generation by 2050, but electricity still failing CO₂ reduction targets – BNEF
Solar PV capacity is set to grow 17-fold, and wind six-fold, by 2050, to account for nearly half of global electricity generation, predicts BNEF, while investments will reach US$11.5 trillion. Cost reductions will drive this charge, particularly in the battery market, which will benefit from the EV manufacturing ramp up. Despite this, the electricity sector is still failing to bring CO₂ emissions down to the required levels, with its continued dependence on gas.
Smart Energy Council campaigns against NEG, latest government proposal “spells disaster’
Describing it as the “D-Day for renewables”, the Smart Energy Council is raising funds to campaign against the National Energy Guarantee – as currently proposed by the government. The solar and storage peak body has called for a 45%-by-2030 emissions reductions target as opposed to the current 26%.
IHS Markit lowers 2018 outlook for world PV market to 105 GW
The market research company expects the Chinese market will decline by 15 GW this. Part of this slow-down, however, will be off-set by lower module prices and accelerated demand across markets with pent-up demand.
SolarPower Europe revises down global outlook for 2018… but only a bit
Despite recent developments in China, the European solar association believes global newly installed PV capacity this year will reach 102 GW, only 5 GW lower than its previous guidance.
BNEF expects 34% fall in PV module prices in 2018
The analyst is expecting carnage throughout the solar value chain as the result of reduced policy support for deployment in China.
California generates more power from solar than gas in May
During May utility-scale solar provided 17% of generation on California’s grid, outpacing gas for the first time on a monthly basis.
“New wave” of PPAs breaks, Flow Power signs Kiamal Solar Farm offtake agreement
Commercial electricity retailer Flow Power has signed an offtake deal through to 2030 for a quarter of the production from the Kiamal Solar Farm, in Victoria. Total Eren – developer of the $90 million, 200 MW project – has now signed three bilateral PPAs with offtakers – pointing the way for project developers as large-scale solar’s competiveness continues to grow.
China: 2018 installations could drop by more than a third
On Friday, three Chinese government ministries issued a joint “2018 Solar PV Power Generation Notice.” Its impact has been hotly debated since, with two key conclusions: the largest market segment – utility-scale PV – will take a pounding and not come close to last year’s record installation figure of just under 34 GW; and the expanding distributed generation market segment, which rose 360% from 2016 to 2017, will also be severely impacted by a 10 GW cap on new projects.
China PV slowdown could prompt deep module price falls in Q3
New policies affecting all solar market segments in China are likely to lead to production overcapacity in the second half of 2018. The new regulations, announced June 1, will likely see the Chinese market decline from an expected 40-45 GW to 30-35 GW for the year, analysts report.
