Solar PV

Australia’s largest electricity transmission project EnergyConnect has taken another step towards completion with the arrival of two 120 MVA capacity synchronous condensers that will sit at the heart of the Buronga substation in western New South Wales.

South Australia-based Sparc Hydrogen will use federal government funding to fast track the development of next generation photocatalytic technology to produce commercially viable green hydrogen from water using concentrated solar.

An Australian software startup that aims to make it easier for energy providers and solar installers to assess the feasibility of commercial-scale renewable energy projects will now pursue global expansion plans after completing a seed funding round.

Australian superannuation giant Aware Super has made a large-scale entry into the distributed renewable energy market, teaming with Melbourne-based Birdwood Energy in a venture specialising in smaller-scale solar and battery installations.

Singapore-based PV module manufacturer REC Group has launched in Australia a new series of rooftop solar panels with power ratings ranging from 450 W to 470 W and efficiencies up to 22.6%.

The solar-powered Stella Terra test car from The Netherlands’ Eindhoven University has just completed a 1,000 kilometre test drive from northern Morocco to the Sahara. In Australia, the solar car racing team from the University of New South Wales says the real challenge is to find new ways to push the boundaries of solar car races.

Researchers at Victoria’s Monash University have developed a new lithium-sulphur battery design they claim requires less lithium, has more energy per unit volume, lasts longer and can be produced for half the price of the dominant lithium-ion technology.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has made its first investment via the Australian government’s $20 billion (USD 12.67 billion) Rewiring the Nation Fund, committing $100 million to support the build-out of renewable generation, long-duration storage and grid infrastructure in New South Wales.

Scientists in the United States have achieved a breakthrough in PV cell tech by creating a 24 cm2 perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell. It positions a lithium fluoride interlayer between a hole transport layer and the perovskite absorber to reduce shunting losses.

Through the first nine months of 2023, $45.56 billion (USD 28.9 billion) of venture capital, public market, and debt financing was injected into solar, says a report from Mercom Capital Group.