Solar PV

The rollout of rooftop solar in the western suburbs of Melbourne is set to get a boost with Victorian network service provider Powercor identifying the site where it will install a community battery that is expected to unlock more than 129MWh of solar PV hosting capacity.

The New South Wales government has announced its single biggest investment yet in renewable energy infrastructure, committing $1.2 billion to fast-track priority transmission and energy storage projects as the energy sector continues its rapid transformation towards a decarbonised and decentralised future.

Buildings-integrated photovoltaics maker Mitrex plans to deploy highway noise barriers with integrated solar that have 1.2 MW of capacity per kilometer. The technology is currently in the pilot phase at government entity locations in North America.

Philippines-based Prime Infrastructure Holdings has unveiled plans to construct a massive solar farm and energy storage project featuring up to 3.5GW of PV backed by up to 4.5GWh of battery energy storage in the Southeast Asian nation.

The Korean manufacturer launched a new bifacial module based on M10 wafers and is planning to produce bigger modules based on M12 wafers starting from the third quarter.

The New South Wales government has invited registrations of interest from renewable generators, energy storage and network developers, and existing and proposed energy loads, to participate in shaping a renewable energy zone to be established in the Illawarra region on the state’s south coast.

With electricity prices surging to previously unimaginable levels, state and federal energy ministers met on Wednesday to consider how to respond to Australia’s energy crisis.

Resource sector heavyweight Rio Tinto has called for proposals to develop an estimated 4GW of large-scale wind and solar farms and firming capacity in central and southern Queensland as it progresses plans to power its aluminium operations in the state with renewable energy.

Scientists in Sweden have developed a wide-gap ACIGS solar cell with hydrogen-doped indium oxide (IOH) transparent back contacts and silver alloying to increase the absorber bandgap energy. The device achieved an efficiency of 12.0%, an open-circuit voltage of 835 mV, a short-circuit current of 22.1 mA cm2, and a fill factor of 65.2%.

Australian federal and state governments have agreed to a suite of reforms designed to tackle soaring energy prices, including creating a national transition plan to phase out fossil fuels, financing projects to boost the nation’s electricity grid, and progressing designs for a new capacity mechanism.