Oceania

The buoyancy of the Australia PV market is evident in the attendance figures from the All Energy Australia conference and trade show in Melbourne last week. Event organizers have reported that while the numbers are still being finalized, it appears that attendance has increased 40% YoY.

Australia’s Turnbull government has finally plotted a course in terms of a post-2020 energy policy, announcing its National Energy Guarantee mechanism.  The move means it is ignoring the recommendations of its own electricity market review conducted by its Chief Scientist, which had advocated for a Clean Energy Target.

Dutch solar-powered car, with an average speed of 69 km/h and a carrying capacity of up to five people, has been hailed as the future of solar powered cars after competing in the World Solar Challenge.

The tender was part of a raft of announcements, including confirmation of a commitment to source 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. Queensland is fast emerging as a large scale solar hotspot, with hundreds of megawatts either having reached financial close or currently under construction.

British firm to invest $64 million to acquire assets being developed in Queensland by Canadian Solar.

Since October 8 some 42 cars powered by solar energy raced their way across Australia from Darwin to Adelaide in the 30th World Solar Challenge. Delft University’s Nuon Solar grabbed its seventh win.

The $150 million agreement between the government-owned CS Energy and the Kennedy Energy Park marks yet another positive step for Australia as as hybrid large scale solutions move into the market.

Senec Australia has presented its Home and Business battery storage solution at All Energy Australia for the first time, with Managing Director Ian Parkinson saying that the company is hoping to foster community resilience, in the face of rising electricity prices and the current contentious political debate about the security of electricity supply.

Record crowds have been attracted to this year’s All Energy Australia trade show and conference, currently underway at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. With the country’s rooftop market set to exceed 1 GW in 2017, the battery storage sector burgeoning, and strong growth being shown in the utility scale segment, policy uncertainty prevails beyond 2020.

The Federal Government will provide $28.6 million for a demand response trial, in partnership with the New South Wales State Government, to help meet electricity demand peaks this summer. The announcement has been made as it becomes increasingly likely that the government will abandon any form of Clean Energy Target.