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Having welcomed Sol Distribution on board, Norwegian solar manufacturer REC Group hopes to expand its presence in Australia, which it sees as its key market in the APAC region.

The opening of SolarShare’s Mount Majura Solar Farm to investors this week represents a significant milestone in the community-energy sector in Australia, says Nicky Ison, founding Director of the Community Power Agency. “It is the first community solar farm in Australia that is grid connected in front of the meter,” she says, and at 1 MW capacity it will also be the country’s biggest community-owned solar farm.

Wood Mackenzie’s number-crunchers are the latest analysts queueing up to predict a bumper year ahead for PV, with falling prices, rising efficiency rates and booming markets outside China all on the cards. And it could be a make-or-break year for mega-projects, says Wood Mac.

German discount supermarket chain Aldi is set to roll out solar PV across 30 stores and distribution centers in New South Wales and Queensland. Netherlands-based renewables developer Photon Energy will deliver the rooftop PV arrays.

A property development in South Australia will deliver solar and storage off-the-plan for home buyers. Developer DLH Projects and Natural Solar are partnering on the property development, and will utilize Hanwha Q Cells DUO-G5 modules and sonnen batteries, making it the first multi-site residential development to benefit from the South Australia Home Battery Scheme.

The Australian Labor Party has released a National Hydrogen Plan, which involves directing $1 billion in CEFC funding towards clean hydrogen projects, $100 million in ARENA grants for hydrogen technology refuelling infrastructure, and $40 million from the CEFC’s Innovation Fund to help commercialise new hydrogen technologies and businesses. Looking towards clean energy exports, the plan will provide $3 million in funding to Queensland coal port in Gladstone with the aim of creating a hydrogen hub.

The world’s biggest solar market reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of 174.63 GW at the end of last year.

There are only 147 of the endearing and vulnerable kākāpō left. New Zealand’s 100% renewable Meridian Energy is tapping national ingenuity to encourage romance between these large green parrots, boost awareness of their plight, and most importantly, grow their population.

Last week, Chinese manufacturers Risen Energy and LONGi both announced conversion efficiency records for PERC cells as the twin quest to drive down costs and increase energy output shows no sign of abating.

Glass-glass modules are built to survive the toughest conditions and can deliver module lifetimes far exceeding the 20-30 years expected of glass-foil. The module concept is ideally positioned to catch the building bifacial wave, but only if quality concerns are addressed, warn some experts in the field.