Solar

Late 2018 saw the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and Community Power Agency publish a comprehensive plan to power New South Wales and Victorian high schools with 100% renewable energy. Tomorrow, Australian high-school students in most states return to their classrooms with extreme summer weather fresh in their memories. Many will have climate change and energy transition on their minds.

The opening of SolarShare’s Mount Majura Solar Farm to investors this week represents a significant milestone in the community-energy sector in Australia, says Nicky Ison, founding Director of the Community Power Agency. “It is the first community solar farm in Australia that is grid connected in front of the meter,” she says, and at 1 MW capacity it will also be the country’s biggest community-owned solar farm.

Solar and/or wind are said to be the cheapest source of new energy generation in all major economies, apart from Japan, finds BloombergNEF. It adds that China’s utility-scale PV market has contracted by over a third this year; and that battery costs are set to drop a further 66% by 2030, driven by EV adoption.

It is unclear whether Angus Taylor is a climate sceptic, but with new PM Scott Morrison having immediately separated the energy and environment ministries – and having in the past professed a curious affection for coal – life could be about to get a whole lot tougher for the Australian PV industry.

In what analysts worldwide are sure to look back on as the last golden period for global solar – at least for the immediate future – China saw more impressive figures for PV manufacturing in the first half of the year. Then the government stepped in.

The Taiwanese analysts expect that overcapacity will force some solar players to abandon their business or file for bankruptcy. IHS Markit also sees further price declines and consolidation in the third quarter, although it does forecast signs of a speedy recovery.

In anticipation of a more detailed presentation of the scheme, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg used the opportunity of the speech to the National Press Club to present the National Energy Guarantee as the best possible option to ensure reliability of supply, describing it as “technology neutral”. Amid mounting criticism leveled by retailers, analysts and leading developers of battery storage, few signs of a national consensus on the proposed NEG are emerging.

Scientists from the University of Wollongong have developed prototype battery cells based on sodium-ion technology, which the university says can achieve excellent cycling stability and easily be scaled up to mass production.

After the 50 MW Stage 1 solar farm was switched on late last year, the Kidston renewable energy hub has now received a development approval for 270 MW of solar, which is to be co-located with a 250 MW pumped storage hydro project.

Last year, the Chinese module maker shipped 9.8 GW, and achieved revenue of $4.0 billion. Both gross and net profit, however, declined due to lower ASPs, higher polysilicon prices and increased output from OEM partners.