Solar

Ibrahim Ariffin and JP Grayda, from Afry Management Consulting, examine two promising ASEAN markets, the Philippines and Malaysia, and the challenges they face as they strive to hit renewable energy targets. The long-term outlook is broadly positive, despite some uncertainties.

Italian scientists have developed a flexible indoor perovskite solar cell with 32.5% efficiency. Their design uses a PET substrate combined with a tetrabutylammonium bromide layer over the perovskite absorber. This additional layer effectively reduces defect density and enhances the stability of the underlying 3D perovskite structure.

Solar Analytics, an Australian solar energy analytics company, is offering a new service that allows solar owners to retrieve consumption data directly from retail meters, eliminating the need for additional consumption metering. Known as Integrated+, the release to all eligible homes in the National Electricity Market (NEM) follows a trial in Victoria. 

University of Sydney researchers Sophie Webber and Gareth Bryant highlight the key challenges of land, labour and finance in achieving a renewable energy transition in Australia.

When US President Joe Biden signed the $500 billion (USD 369 billion) Inflation Reduction Act into law in August 2022, it was lauded as the most significant policy the world has yet seen to combat climate change and drive the transition to renewable energies. However, some international critics and competitors claim the landmark bill thwarts their slow-burning ambitions to foster green manufacturing at home. As governments scramble to respond to the scale of the IRA, Australia is one country realising it may have already been left behind.

Solar-wind hybrid plants are rapidly becoming mainstream, and in booming markets like India and the US these hybrids are increasingly preferred to singular projects despite the higher installation cost. There is no shortage to the benefits of hybridisation, from a smoother power output profile to the cost saving of grid connection. But getting the balance right for new projects and retrofits remains a challenge. Blake Matich reports on this growing trend.

Vena Energy Australia has reached financial close on the second stage of its Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Project thanks to a PPA with Zen Energy and green financial support from DBS, ING, and Siemens. The 128.5 MW project will comprise 87 MW of solar with 41.5 MW of battery energy storage.

Western Australia is set to exit coal-fired power by the end of the decade as state-owned power provider Synergy will close its two remaining coal plants by 2029 in response. Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said coal was no longer viable due to the high-penetration of solar, particularly rooftop. McGowan also announced a $662 million boost for the coal-town of Collie’s industrial transition and $3.8 billion in statewide renewable investment, with a focus on energy storage.

Melbourne’s City of Boroondara council has ordered a homeowner to remove rooftop solar panels on a street-facing facade due to the building’s position in a heritage overlay. In 2021 the City of Boroondara declared a climate emergency and called for a tripling of rooftop solar in the municipality. The homeowner described the decision as “ridiculous.”

Newly elected Prime Minster Anthony Albanese has announced Chris Bowen as the new Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Entering office with a climate crisis, surging energy prices and an electricity grid in transition, Bowen has his hands full.