Victorian councils turn to solar for environmental upgrades, improved bottom lines
Mildura Rural City Council reports a milestone in helping businesses to upgrade their buildings with solar and become more energy efficient and sustainable, while Greater Shepparton sees great results from going solar.
There’s a looming waste crisis from Australia’s solar energy boom
As Australians seek to control rising energy costs and tackle the damaging impacts of climate change, rooftop solar has boomed. To manage the variability of rooftop solar – broadly, the “no power at night” problem – we will also see a rapid increase in battery storage.
Renewables still setting strong pace in South Australia
The April shelving of a major solar thermal plant has done little to slow the pace of renewable energy projects being proposed in South Australia.
U.K. government announces 2050 carbon neutrality ambition
Leaving with a last hurrah, Brexit casualty prime minister Theresa May has announced a statutory instrument to amend the Climate Change Act of 2008. The law currently prescribes an emissions cut of 80% by 2050, from a 1990 baseline. The new law will aim for net zero emissions by 2050, making the U.K. the first G7 nation to pass such legislation.
Bifacial beats Trump’s tariffs
Federal trade authorities have ruled that bifacial solar modules are no longer subject to the Section 201 ruling, which currently apply a 25% tariff to most solar modules imported to the United States.
AEMC opens consultation on changes to marginal loss factors
The Australian Energy Market Commission has started consultation on two rule change requests from Adani Renewables about how marginal loss factors are calculated and how intra-regional settlement residues are distributed.
Queensland launches $19 million hydrogen strategy
The Queensland government has launched a five-year plan to help drive the development of a renewable hydrogen industry and create more highly skilled jobs and export opportunities.
Queensland government to appeal solar farms ruling
The Queensland government will attempt to reverse a Supreme Court of Queensland ruling to invalidate recently introduced regulations relating to solar farms larger than 100 kW and apply for a stay of the controversial safety measures.
Protectionist measures working as Chinese export destinations shift
While the world’s biggest solar manufacturers are confident there are plenty of alternative markets for a rising volume of panel exports, the message spelled out by first-quarter shipment figures is that protectionism works.
Global electric car fleet may reach 250 million by 2030
The International Energy Agency says more than 2 million electric vehicles hit the road last year, to take the total to more than 5 million. The agency has stressed the importance of public policy, charging infrastructure and a fall in costs for continued EV uptake, and says up to 43 million EVs could be sold in 2030.
