rooftop solar

The first of three planned 150 kW battery energy storage systems that are to form a combined 450 kW / 1 MWh capacity coordinated battery network across inner Melbourne has been switched on.

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s latest Integrated System Plan has stamped the role rooftop solar will play in the nation’s energy transition, revealing that the total capacity of rooftop PV and other distributed solar in the nation’s main grid is forecast to rise from 21 GW to 86 GW by 2050.

Two Western Australian companies and three people have been fined almost $40,000 for an illegal electrical licence-sharing arrangement involving 25 rooftop solar installations at properties in the state’s southwest.

It’s time to assess curtailment, as rising amounts of excess generation are being wasted in several markets. This can be problematic for the solar industry but Toby Couture and David Jacobs, coordinators of think tank Global Solar PV Brain Trust, argue that curtailment is not always bad.

Over the next three years energy retailer and tech company Amber Electric will trial a software solution for electric vehicle smart charging and bi-directional vehicle-to-grid services to enable consumers using their cars can buy and sell energy to the grid.

A “nation first” local renewable energy zone will be established on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as part of a pilot program designed to boost rooftop solar generation, store it and share it locally across the poles and wires infrastructure that already exists.

The new module has a power output of up to 650 W and weighs 29.6 kg. It uses JA Solar’s patented anti-dust frame technology, which reportedly enhances drainage and decontamination performance, thus reducing dust accumulation and avoiding hotspot issues.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in Indonesia has set a quota of 5,746 MW of rooftop solar to be deployed between 2024 and 2028. The Jakarta-based Institute for Essential Services Reform anticipates rooftop solar to be more commonly adopted by commercial and industrial consumers than residential users, following the abolishment of net-metering earlier this year.

Energy major AGL will invest $150 million for a 20% stake in smart energy platform Kaluza in a move the utility hopes will radically transform its retail operations and deliver significant savings.

The Clean Energy Council is calling for a unified national strategy to “supercharge” the uptake of consumer energy resources including rooftop solar and home batteries in Australia, saying such a move would deliver more than $22 billion in savings and 18,200 extra jobs by 2050.