Australia

In light of the recent events that have caused the polysilicon price to skyrocket, solar developers in Australia are being warned about module supply constraints and price volatility over the coming quarter.

The California-based energy technology company has announced that its microinverters have been selected for Solargain’s turnkey solar offerings in Australia, including the retailer’s offer in collaboration with the Swedish furniture giant.

German discount supermarket chain Aldi has become the first Australian supermarket to commit to 100% renewable electricity by the end of 2021. To achieve this goal, Aldi’s longtime solar partner Epho Commercial Solar has refined its processes, managing to install 100 solar systems atop Aldi sites in 100 days.

AGL has become the first Australian company to join EV100, a global initiative to make electric vehicles the norm by 2030. AGL’s commitment will see it transition its 400-strong fleet of corporate cars transition to EVs, one of the few proactive shifts the energy giant is making to meet its updated climate statement.

In its H1 2020 report, the UK-based infrastructure investor revealed it had suffered substantial losses, mainly due to performance issues on its renewable energy projects. Two of the company’s Australian solar farms were particularly badly hit by transmission and equipment issues.

Western Australian tech startup Power Ledger and Thai renewable energy company BCPG are expanding their partnership with the creation of a Renewable Energy Certificate marketplace for SE Asia on Power Ledger’s peer-to-peer blockchain platform.

Last month, Australian Parents for Climate Action’s Solar our Schools campaign published an Open Letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling for solar and energy storage investment at every school and early childhood centre Australia-wide as part of the Covid-19 economic recovery. Today, pv magazine Australia sits down with Solar our Schools ‘Champion’ Dan Sturrock, a renewable industry professional leading the charge for solar uptake at his kids’ school in Sydney’s inner west.

Reports emerged on Tuesday that Federal Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor had requested a review of Australia’s rooftop solar sector, citing integrity concerns. An important message comes from the Clean Energy Council as it warns against an Abbott-era political intervention that could harm the industry.

Australia’s leading scientists today sent an open letter to Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, speaking out against his support for natural gas.

Scientists in Australia took a close look at the long-term performance of passivation layers in silicon solar cells, and discovered a surprising process of degradation and regeneration at work within the material. The results could have implications on the processes used in industrial scale solar cell production.