Solar PV

New global PV additions reached 94.2 GW in 2018, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Asia is the region with the largest share of cumulative PV capacity, with around 274.6 GW, followed by Europe and North America with 119.3 GW and 55.3 GW, respectively.

In a briefing looking into the renewable energy investment boom, BIS Oxford Economics estimates solar and wind will attract $20 billion of private investment in FY18 and FY19, spread over more than 70 projects. The consultants warn investment will slow beyond 2020 pointing to the upcoming Federal election as critically important for the future of Australia’s renewables pipeline.

Following the decision to require retailers taking part in the Solar Homes program to be signatories to the Clean Energy Council’s Solar Retailer Code of Conduct, the Victorian government has set specific requirements for inverters that will be installed under the program.

The solar households which choose to participate in the trial will receive direct cash payments of up to $135 per year, depending on the size of their battery system.

A recent Australian National University study shows that newly developed geographic information system algorithms can identify prospective sites for off-river pumped hydro projects throughout the world. The researchers, who identified around 530,000 potential sites, said pumped-hydro installations could enable large-scale energy time-shifting, as well as a range of ancillary services such as frequency regulation, which could help to integrate high levels of PV and wind into electricity systems.

With solar panels already installed on dozens of its buildings, the City of Sydney has upped the ante with the goal to source 100% of its electricity needs from solar PV and wind. The commitment has been endorsed by Council this week, and a new 100% renewable electricity contract will be negotiated in the coming months.

The Norwegian solar panel manufacturer says Hanwha Q Cells did not provide full particulars of its allegations despite REC Group’s requests and went ahead to commence proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia.

Solar has grown so much that its output exceeded brown coal and gas over the summer months, between 9am to 5pm. New analysis by Green Energy Markets shows that across the whole of summer, renewable energy produced 128% more megawatt-hours of electricity than gas and 23% more than brown coal.

Green hydrogen has been exported from Australia to Japan, under a trial executed by researchers from JXTG, Japan’s largest petroleum conglomerate, using Queensland University of Technology’s cutting-edge solar cell facility at the Redlands Research Facility on the Gold Coast. On top of that, the Queensland government has announced $250,000 in funding towards the establishment a renewable hydrogen production pilot plant.

The German inverter producer’s sales also fell significantly in the past financial year. With its cost reduction program, SMA is now eager to orchestrate a turnaround, but its first-quarter guidance still shows a sustained downward trend.