News

Queensland aluminium materials manufacturer Alpha HPA says it will establish the world’s largest single-site high-purity alumina products refinery after reaching a final investment decision on the second stage of its processing facility in Gladstone.

Rooftop PV is the fourth largest source of electricity generation in Australia, providing about 11% of the country’s power supply, but solar industry analyst SunWiz has cautioned the market to brace for a challenging period.

North American hydrogen technology company Plug Power has agreed to supply up to 3 GW of electrolysers to Western Australian chemical company Allied Green Ammonia for a large-scale, renewables-based hydrogen and ammonia production project planned for the Northern Territory.

Japan’s Leapton Energy has developed a 20.48 kWh residential battery energy storage system featuring storage capacities starting at 5.12 kWh, utilising lithium iron phosphate technology.

Decarbonising the transport sector has taken to the skies thanks to Australian zero emission aircraft designer and manufacturer AMSL Aero, which is testing its hybrid electric hydrogen powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft in central western NSW.

Perovskites remain a great hope for the future of the solar industry, once the possibilities of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) and heterojunction PV have been exhausted. A look at the latest perovskite research shows that industry optimism is built on a strong foundation.

Registration is now open for the first national tender in the Australian government’s Capacity Investment Scheme that is seeking 32 GW of additional renewable energy generation and dispatchable storage capacity by 2030 to support the nation’s clean energy transition.

A New South Wales community group has launched a guide it says provides a framework that will enable solar farms developers to improve biodiversity on project sites and build trust in neighbouring communities without compromising PV generation capacity.

For years, the electricity sector has been the poster child for emissions cuts in Australia. The sector achieved a stunning 26% drop in emissions over the past 15 years, while other sectors have hardly budged. The share of renewable energy has gone from 7.5% to more than 30% in that time.

With solar module oversupply triggering a price freefall in 2023 and no recovery in sight, market consolidation, inventory pile-up, technology shifts, and challenges to reshoring PV manufacturing are set to affect all levels of the solar supply chain.