Policy

With a pronounced focus on safety and installer certification in the second round of Victoria’s landmark Solar Homes subsidy program, the Smart Energy Council (SEC) has renewed calls for its ‘whole of industry’ code to be incorporated into the program. SEC CEO John Grimes says that he broadly supports the focus on safety as “setting a high bar.” 

The Victorian Government has published its targets and caps for the 2019/20 round of the Solar Homes program. 40,0000 privately owned homes are set to receive government grants under the program, with an additional 2,000 systems on rental properties. 1,000 grants for retrofitted residential storage are also set to be subsidised in the latest round, in targeted areas. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.