Solar Power

Successful commissioning and operation of Australia-based Vast Solar’s 1 MW pilot project is delivering dispatchable renewable power to the grid and driving the company’s next move. The world-leading concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) company is now looking to raise $75m from strategic partners to build its business and help finance its first utility scale power … Continue reading Renewable energy technology developer seeks finance for commercial project →

RMIT University researchers have developed a nano-enhanced material that can capture 99 per cent of light and convert it to power chemical reactions, paving the way for a more sustainable chemical manufacturing industry. As well as reducing the environmental impact of chemical manufacturing, the innovation could one day be used to deliver technologies like better … Continue reading Researchers harness light to power chemical manufacturing →

Business energy retailer Flow Power has entered into a ten-year offtake agreement with renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. to purchase 48 megawatts (MW) from two of northern Victoria’s largest solar farms. The 112MW Karadoc solar farm and 106MW Yatpool solar farm, which are owned and developed by BayWa r.e, will provide 20MW and 28MW respectively … Continue reading Flow Power enters agreement with owner of northern Victoria’s largest solar farms →

Canadian Solar has acquired a 30MW solar farm in Mannum, South Australia, which will help to power Mid-Murray region agribusinesses. Following the acquisition, the farm will be constructed in two stages, the first 5 megawatt stage will commence construction in January with the second 25 megawatt stage to follow later in 2019. Once complete the … Continue reading Canadian Solar purchases Mannum solar farm in SA →

A Curtin University PhD project developed in collaboration with back-up power equipment, Magellan Power, has led to the development of a sky imaging product that can help mitigate the effects of passing clouds of solar power generation. PhD student Mojtaba Saleh worked with Magellan Power to develop the “Sky Eye Solar Smoother”, which uses real-time … Continue reading Research develops sky-imaging technology to bolster solar power →

Sustainability Victoria is thinking circular in outlining a new research project to understand end of life management approaches for Photovoltaic (PV) systems with the objective of assessing options to progress a national product stewardship program, its CEO Stan Krpan said today. “For the purposes of the assessment, the term PV systems includes solar panels and … Continue reading Where solar panels go to die →

Renewable energy is on track to supply more than a third of the  power in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) by 2020 thanks to a combination of large-scale renewable projects and Australia’s booming rooftop solar industry. New analysis also reveals that with higher emissions reduction targets,renewable energy  could account for up to 85% of the … Continue reading Renewables to have 33 per cent share of Australia’s electricity market by 2020 →

The Smart Energy Council is today calling on the Victorian Government to only maintain its support of the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) if the Federal Government commits to a stronger national emissions target. The renewables sector is booming in Victoria, with a recent large-scale renewable  energy auction attracting 3,500 MW of new wind and solar … Continue reading Smart Energy Council wants government support →

The Pilbara town of Onslow is set to become the home of Australia’s largest energy microgrid with the awarding of major renewables-focused infrastructure contracts. Horizon Power recently received State Government approval to progress the next phase of its distributed energy resources (DER) project in Onslow which will provide the town with a high level of … Continue reading Australia’s largest renewable energy microgrid powers ahead →

Rooftop solar is continuing to boom in Australia with the 2018 installation rate soaring above 2017’s record rate. Thanks to improved technology and larger rooftop installs, the total kilowatt capacity of rooftop solar is 56% above last year’s, and the number of systems installed has increased 32 per cent on the same period last year. … Continue reading Solar citizens lead the energy revolution →

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) today announced an Australian-first trial of drinking water systems that produce clean drinking water drawn directly from the air using solar power. On behalf of the Australian Government, ARENA will provide $420,000 in funding to US-based Zero Mass Water to deploy 150 of its solar-powered SOURCE drinking water systems … Continue reading How to get clean drinking water using solar power →

Resources NL is pleased to announce the execution of a binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Sunrise Energy Group for the supply and construction of a Mega Watt Alternating Current (MWAC) solar farm to be built next to the company’s high-grade, zircon-rich Boonanarring mineral sands project located 80km north of Perth, which is currently under … Continue reading HOA agreement signed between Resources NL and Sunrise Energy →

Pop-up mobile solar PV could soon replace diesel generators as temporary power supply for military operations, disaster relief efforts and music festivals, thanks to an Australian-made innovation. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $289,725 in funding for Canberra-based ECLIPS Engineering to design, manufacture and test its rapidly redeployable Container Roll Out Solar System … Continue reading Portable solar system could replace generators →

MinterEllison has advised Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) on its Energy Storing Initiative (ESI) – a funding program that will deliver two large-scale battery storage projects for grid constrained areas in Western Victoria. The projects have the objectives of improving the performance and reliability capability of Victoria’s energy infrastructure, and enabling … Continue reading Two battery storage projects for Western Victoria →

The latest Renewable Energy Index (REI) compiled by Green Energy Markets and funded by GetUp, shows that 16,042 rooftop systems were installed over January — supporting 5,337 full-time jobs. The news keeps getting better with another 5,456 jobs set to be created by large scale solar farms which are currently under construction, which will also … Continue reading Solar employs over 10,000 Australians →

The first ground-mounted solar plant using shingled-cell modules, also known as the Zhaiheyuan Project, was successfully connected to the grid in Jiyuan, Henan Province in China. At 5MW, the Zhaiheyuan Project is also the biggest solar project using innovative shingled-cell modules, which are all made by Jiangsu Seraphim Solar System. Developed by Henan Nuanhuang Photovoltaic, … Continue reading China’s first 5MW PV power plant with shingled-cell modules →

SolarReserve, a developer of large-scale solar power projects and solar thermal technology, has opened two new offices in South Australia – its Australian headquarters in Adelaide and a field office in Port Augusta. With Australia identified as a priority market for the global organisation, SolarReserve’s Adelaide team will focus on delivering the Aurora Solar Energy … Continue reading SolarReserve opens Oz headquarters in SA →

UNSW Sydney has announced a tripartite arrangement with contract partners Maoneng Australia (Maoneng) and Origin Energy (Origin) for an offsite Solar PV Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (Solar PPA). The 15-year solar supply agreement with Maoneng is the first of its kind in Australia – bringing together a retailer, developer and corporate – and will allow … Continue reading UNSW signs worldwide solar energy agreement →

SolarReserve’s 150MW solar thermal power plant has been granted development approval by the South Australian Government, paving the way for construction to begin this year. The Aurora Solar Energy Project ocated in Port Augusta, about 300km north of the South Australian capital Adelaide, will incorporate eight hours of storage or 1100 megawatts-hours, allowing it to … Continue reading SolarReserve granted approval for 150MW solar thermal project →

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is mourning the passing of Professor Stuart Wenham, director of the Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence, and a pioneering researcher and inventor of solar cell technologies. Wenham passed away peacefully on the morning of Saturday 23 December with family and close friends by his side. He died from malignant … Continue reading Pioneering solar engineer Stuart Wenham passes away →