Australia

A massive solar+storage project nearby Uralla in the New England region of New South Wales has been given the tick of approval from the Independent Planning Commission. Project developer UPC/AC Renewables Australia says construction is likely to commence towards the middle of the year.

A consortium of partners led by the University of Technology Sydney has been successful in its bid for funding of a Cooperative Research Centre dedicated to enhancing energy consumers’ access to and efficient deployment of distributed renewable resources — primarily rooftop PV.

The Federal Government Government on Friday told participants in the research engine, known as the Energy Transition Hub, that funding of the five-year initiative had been curtailed.

German residential battery supplier sonnen has wasted no time in getting deeply involved in all aspects of the Australian solar market – from VPP programs, rolling out its “flat” electricity pricing scheme, to providing batteries for bushfire impacted homes. But its setting up battery assembly at a defunct Holden factory in South Australia and achieving Australian Made status truly sets it apart, says sonnen Australia’s CEO Nathan Dunn.

Grupo Energia is the latest renewable energy company to set up shop in Australia and it has chosen Melbourne for its local headquarters.

Despite a sizable pipeline of big PV projects, many EPCs have found it difficult to escape the pitfalls of Australia’s notoriously competitive market. The turmoil in the solar construction sector became evident with the collapse of the nation’s leading contractor RCR Tomlinson. It was further emphasized by Tempo Australia’s problems and last month’s withdrawal of Sydney-based contractor Downer Group. As the survival of the fittest continues, Mumbai-based EPC juggernaut Sterling and Wilson Solar (SWSL) is confident it has found a way to adapt and thrive.

Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology have compiled a detailed overview of the use of diketopyrrolopyrrole organic pigments in driving the future of electronic devices, including wearable technology and solar cells that could be made at a fraction of the current costs.

In early 2020, a team of researchers at University of Queensland announced that it had managed to break the world record for quantum dot solar cells. The UQ researchers did so by synthesizing a quantum dot solar cell from a halide perovskite and using a surface engineering strategy to improve the optoelectronic quality of the perovskite quantum dots.

UNSW will divest itself of fossil fuel assets by 2025 as part of its ambitious net-zero emissions goal. The global powerhouse of renewable energy and sustainability science is advancing rapidly towards energy purity as the capital flight from fossil fuels accelerates.

German-headquartered module manufacturer AE Solar is looking to enter the Australian market in 2020. It has begun accrediting its module range with the Clean Energy Council and believes its Supreme module series, which are shade and hot spot resistant, will attract installers.