Australia

Some of the world’s largest solar PV module manufacturers are warning about looming panel shortages, but Australian researchers have declared that the industry is now drawing closer to a new generation of cheap, sustainable and efficient solar cells.

On Sunday, Australia set a new record for minimum operational demand, with the national grid dipping below 14 GW. Renewables met 55% of that, while rooftop solar accounted for 34%.

In the following interview, pv magazine’s China correspondent Vincent Shaw talks to Li Kui, Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing at Sunways about the PV inverter products it will unveil at this year’s Intersolar Europe, inverter trends, and the plans it has for 2022.

Australia’s PV module supply landscape could experience a supply shock as legislation emerges to stamp out the use of forced labor. Chris O’Brien, VP for the APAC region at Maxeon Solar Technologies, says that measures that have left modules stranded at the U.S. border could very well occur in Australia soon.

Chemical engineer Rose Amal arrived in Australia from Indonesia 38 years ago to study at UNSW. Now her leadership and research are contributing to a new sustainable economy for Australia and clean fuels for energy-hungry industries.

Closed-loop pumped-hydro storage offers more chances to minimize environmental effects on water sources and overcomes the problem of finding suitable sites. According to an Australian research team, closed-loop systems could prevail on open-loop systems in the future and this trend is confirmed by another group of scientists from the United States.

Australia’s clean energy transition is set to accelerate in the coming years with a new report suggesting that most Australian homes and businesses will have switched to PV modules paired with batteries by 2030, giving the nation the highest per capita penetration of renewables in the world.

Australian Vanadium Ltd. has appointed a Western Australian engineering company to begin the first stage of what it says will be the country’s first vanadium electrolyte manufacturing plant.

Energization testing is set to resume this week for Neoen’s 300 MW/450 MWh Victorian Big Battery, following a fire that caught global attention and destroyed two of its Megapacks on July 30.

The Australian Energy Regulator has filed a lawsuit against the Hornsdale Power Reserve, which is owned and operated by French renewable energy developer Neoen, over claims that it failed to provide the grid security services it was paid to deliver.