Markets & Policy

PV demand grew 68% year-on-year from the level seen in 2017 as Germany’s cumulative installed solar generation capacity reached 45.92 GW.

A flagship report from the Senate Committee on Electric Vehicles (EV) has called on the federal government to adopt a strategy that will accelerate EV uptake in Australia, and implement new vehicle emissions standards to encourage manufacturers to sell more EVs. Since a growing EV fleet could pose a challenge to the grid, solar is set to assume an important role in flattening out the demand and supply curve.

Elon Musk’s company is seeing tremendous success with its EVs and global manufacturing, and dramatically scaling its energy storage deployment, but the Solar Roof is still not being widely deployed.

The OECD Environmental Performance review of Australia, released yesterday, comes at a critical time in the lead-up to Federal elections in May. Three formerly Liberal-aligned candidates are standing as independents in opposition to longstanding Liberal members of parliament, on the basis that the Liberal National Party, in power since 2013 has failed to adequately address climate change and its many challenges, including environmental degradation. The OECD review agrees with them.

A major project featuring 120 MW wind and 50 MW solar PV in Western Australia has secured all state and federal approvals and is scheduled to start construction later this year. An energy storage facility is to be included at a later stage.

Commercial electricity retailer Flow Power has signed an offtake deal with Germany’s BayWa r.e. for 48 MW of clean electricity generated at two of northern Victoria’s largest solar farms – the 112 MW Karadoc Solar Farm and 106 MW Yatpool Solar Farm.

Queensland is in line for its first community-scale battery to be installed on Townsville’s outskirts because of the high number of rooftop solar systems and close proximity to electricity infrastructure. The energy storage system should be operating by the end of the year.

Companies in the United States accounted for more than 60% of the clean energy deals signed by corporations worldwide last year, according to BloombergNEF. A proposed renewable portfolio standard for Chinese business, though, could turn the picture upside down in a year’s time.

Late 2018 saw the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and Community Power Agency publish a comprehensive plan to power New South Wales and Victorian high schools with 100% renewable energy. Tomorrow, Australian high-school students in most states return to their classrooms with extreme summer weather fresh in their memories. Many will have climate change and energy transition on their minds.

The South Australian government has released an update on the energy storage uptake under the nation’s biggest home battery rebate scheme. With a total of 101 batteries already installed and more than 500 households now in line for installation, a further influx of applications is expected as public awareness builds.