Long read: State and territory subsidies for Australian storage
While little action is seen on the federal level, energy storage is increasingly coming to the fore as part of state and territory energy policies. With a rising number of residential battery subsidy schemes taking shape in Australia, funding appears to be slowly moving away from solar to energy storage. Such initiatives are poised to not only reshape the battery storage market, but also have a major impact on the grid, making it more reliable, responsive, and flexible.
Eguana Technologies reports strong order book in SA
The Canadian battery manufacturer says its order book has crossed the $1.5 million mark in less than two weeks after joining the South Australian Home Battery Scheme.
CSIRO-hosted Global Carbon Project points to crucial PV role
The growth in global energy demand is surging ahead of decarbonisation, concludes a new report released Thursday, but the opportunity is promising for solar PV to grow into the space and help reduce the emissions burden.
UNSW, Leadmicro to partner on ALD for PERC production
UNSW Sydney has partnered with Leadmicro to develop the next generation of PERC solar cells and fast-track their time to market. The Chinese PV production machinery manufacturer is donating $1 million Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) reactor to UNSW to test and adapt a new process for PERC cell solar cell production.
World first base for Airbus solar powered pseudo-satellite launches in WA
The world’s first Zephyr Solar High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite operating base has been officially established in the north of Western Australia. The unmanned aerial vehicle, running exclusively on solar power, will be operating out of Wyndham with the goal to provide observation and communications services to a range of customers.
Fremantle residents to trade solar energy using blockchain
Around 40 residential properties across the port city of Fremantle, Western Australia, will be able to trade solar power using a blockchain-enabled platform. The trial is even open for residents who do not have solar PV on their rooftops.
Final hurdle cleared in California’s solar mandate for new homes
The California Building Standards Commission has approved the requirement that new homes integrate rooftop solar. This is expected to not only give a major boost to the state’s solar market, but to drive down costs.
Sonnen to provide primary balancing power to German grid from networked home storage
After months of preliminary work, the time has come: With its PV+home storage network, sonnen GmbH has received prequalification from TenneT to participate in Germany’s primary control energy market. While it is currently allowed to deliver 1 MW, the goal is to supply 100 MW.
Western Power introduces new mechanism for 900 MW of large scale renewables
In an attempt to encourage more large scale renewable development while maintaining grid stability, Western Power has introduced its Generator Interim Access (GIA) mechanism for 900 MW of wind and large scale solar projects. The GIA will open the door for some PV power plant projects to go ahead in the state, if they agree to curtail production when instructed to do so by the grid operator.
The verdict is in: renewables reduce energy prices (yes, even in South Australia)
Does renewable electricity raise or lower electricity prices? There is more to this question than meets the eye: are prices lower before or after renewable subsidies are recovered, how has variability been accounted for, how have changes in network costs been accounted for, and so on and on. Bruce Mountain, the Director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre and Steven Percy, a research fellow at Victoria University set out new findings.
