Markets & Policy

The first $550 million of the federal government’s Solar Sunshot program has been launched to support the development of Australia’s solar manufacturing industry and help local businesses capture more of the global solar manufacturing supply chain.

Gas and oil heavyweight Woodside Energy has shelved two green hydrogen projects in Australia and New Zealand with a combined capacity of 2.3 GW, citing inadequate renewable energy generation capacity, revised environmental demands and challenging economics.

The Queensland government has launched a solar panel recycling scheme with the launch of the first of 15 sites collection sites that are to be established across the state. The program is expected to save 26 tonnes of broken or end-of-life solar panels from landfill annually and will inform the possible rollout of a nationwide scheme.

Mildura Rural City Council has completed a 99 kW rooftop solar system at a sporting precinct in the Victorian regional centre that is expected to generate more than 114,000 kWh of clean electricity per year, enough to satisfy 15% of the facility’s annual demand.

BloombergNEF says the global solar industry will install 592 GW of modules this year, up 33% on 2023. The consultancy has also lowered its estimate for 2024 polysilicon production, as manufacturers are temporarily scaling back output.

The Australian government’s Energy Update 2024 shows solar electricity generation grew 21% in the 2022-23 period and is 11 times higher than a decade ago, jumping 3% in each of the past two years.

The South Australian Hydrogen Jobs Plan hydrogen power plant has secured development approval for the construction and operation of 250 MW electrolysers, a 100-tonne storage pipeline and a 200 MW hydrogen fuelled power plant.

The Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West 500 kV transmission line has received an $840 million boost to progress its early works, enabling equipment orders, the project’s design, and market and community engagement to progress.

Rooftop solar system uptake and 1.2 GW of large-scale solar projects brought online in the past 12 months, have boosted grid reliability in the National Electricity Market, demonstrating a trend the Australian Energy Market Operator forecasts will continue but not without ongoing clean energy investments.

Swiss-German PV manufacturer Meyer Burger has announced company restructuring plans, put an end to a proposed United States solar cell plant and put on hold plans for capacity expansion at an existing module production plant in the US. Existing cell production site in Germany to remain part of Meyer Burger operations.