Australia

Despite a rapidly evolving electric vehicle market, myths that they are unsuited to Australian roads have persisted. According to the Electric Vehicle Council, there remains a misconception that EVs are unsuited to Australian conditions due to low battery ranges, the landscape and the country’s immature EV charging infrastructure.

Sourcing solar and energy storage locally will reduce some supply chain risks but it also opens the door to a new set of questions for prospective investors. Here, pv magazine takes a look at the United States market that could provide lessons for Australia as it seeks to build a domestic solar manufacturing industry.

A team of Australian researchers has developed multi-stage algorithms they say can remotely detect and accurately diagnose underperforming solar panels in residential and commercial PV systems.

Australian-headquartered real estate group and fund manager Dexus has commenced the roll out of more than $25 million worth of battery energy storage systems coupled with rooftop solar at its new warehouses as it looks to future-proof its investment portfolio.

State-owned energy utility Synergy has awarded the construction and balance of plant contract for the 500 MW / 2,000 MWh Collie battery energy storage system being built in Western Australia’s southwest.

French multinational energy management company Schneider Electric has released two new battery energy storage systems with enclosures of 2.1 metres and 6.06 metres. Their power ranges from 60 kW to 500 kW.

New data from market firm SunWiz shows Australian households and businesses installed a further 262 MW of solar on their rooftops during the month of April, pushing the year-to-date total up 7% on the corresponding time last year.

Data from international consultancy Rystad Energy shows that 82 new renewable energy generation and battery storage projects corresponding to more than 20 GW of capacity were proposed across Australia’s National Electricity Market in the first quarter of 2024, with developers largely focused on Queensland and New South Wales.

A group of Australian engineers claim to have discovered a new material to make power-pole insulators resistant to electrical sparking and fire, promising to prevent dangerous pole-top fires, reduce blackouts and lower maintenance costs.

Western Australia’s rollout of solar-based standalone power systems is set to continue with the state government announcing a $26.4 million funding package to drive local manufacturing of components needed for clean energy projects.