Australia

Due to the immense success of the program — and with rebates now almost fully subscribed — Solar Victoria will accept a final 2,000 applications before the end of June, the state government has announced. New solar rebates will be available in the next financial year.

An online platform to connect medium to small-scale solar energy producers with independent electricity buyers will launch in the coming months in South Australia.

Construction has been completed on the Solar Energy Transformation Program (SETuP), which has been touted as Australia’s largest rollout of solar power to remote communities to date.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Adelaide-based laser supplier Lastek are developing equipment and procedures to accurately measure the performance of multi-junction solar cells with the help of an LED-based solar simulator.

Building on its existing PV fleet, South Australia’s Flinders University has announced a fresh investment of $1.45 million to source one-third of its electricity needs from solar.

Sometimes there are old solutions to new problems. But often the problem would be best avoided in the first place. The developers of one of Australia’s most ambitious solar and eventually battery storage projects encountered precisely this – as the rate of wind and large-scale solar development in Australia outstrips the capabilities of the grid, at least in some locations.

The Port Augusta concentrated solar power project billed as the world’s biggest has ground to a halt. Although it was granted additional time, U.S. firm SolarReserve failed to achieve financial close and proposed selling the 150 MW project to a third party.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will underpin two innovative distributed energy projects – a trial to integrate a virtual power plant into the National Energy Market and a digital marketplace for grid services provided by rooftop solar arrays, batteries and EVs owned by Australian homes and businesses.

A new report from the Clean Energy Council confirms 2018 shattered all records in terms of investment in renewables and capacity additions. The CEC finds that more than 2.3 GW of new renewable energy projects were completed in 2018. Both large-scale and rooftop solar experienced their best ever year.

The California-based energy technology company has released its updated Enphase AC Battery (ACB) with a new battery cell supplier and improved Time-Of-Use (TOU) software for customers in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.