Oceania

Research by the University of New South Wales has examined the economic barriers, technologies and opportunities of recycling end-of-life silicon PV modules for profit.

Australia’s federal Labor party has pledged to roll out PV generation and batteries at schools across the nation, and to create VPPs supporting up to 365 MW of capacity.

A total of 238,000 advanced meters will be installed by utility Western Power on the state of Western Australia’s South West Interconnected System over the next three years. The move will unlock the benefits of a technology that gives consumers more control over their energy use. In another rollout, Horizon Power has made paying for power easier for 11 Aboriginal communities across the state.

Coming hot on the heels of major reports and a heated public debate about electric vehicles, a poll commissioned by the Climate Council has confirmed Australians believe electric cars are the future. Another poll, by The Australia Institute, has 50% of Australian voters supporting all car sales being electric by 2025.

The world had more than half a terawatt of PV generation capacity at the end of last year as emerging solar markets picked up the slack caused by Beijing’s subsidy about-turn to the tune of a 20% rise in installations outside China.

First-quarter data from Green Energy Markets shows double the uptake of small-scale rooftop solar on the same period last year as record numbers of residential and business consumers seek to reduce electricity bills. A tendency for installations to increase toward the year end suggests more than 2 GW of solar will hit the rooftops this year. But could this become a cautionary tale?

Today’s Solpod launch Down Under could be a potential game changer for commercial solar. Substantially funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and supported by energy retailer ERM Power, the product will be trialed across 25 shopping centers and New South Wales government sites.

The Australian supermarket giant is issuing green bonds to fund the development of low-carbon supermarkets and the installation of solar at its stores and distribution centers.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Adelaide-based laser supplier Lastek are developing equipment and procedures to accurately measure the performance of multi-junction solar cells with the help of an LED-based solar simulator.

In a recent briefing on Australia’s renewables investment boom, BIS Oxford Economics estimates that solar and wind will attract AUD $20 billion ($14.2 billion) of private investment in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, spread across more than 70 projects. But the consultants warn that investment will slow beyond 2020, pointing to the upcoming Australian federal election as critically important for the future of the country’s renewables pipeline.