by Carol Tran
Solar Report - March 2017
While the trend for solar PV system installations has remained fairly flat since January 2016 the average unit size has increased. Cumulative installed capacity for solar PV in Australia stood at 5500 MW with more than 1.65 million installations at February 2017. Our Solar report looks at the latest trends and projections. Read more.
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The Consumer Energy Resources Roadmap has just been endorsed by Energy and Climate Change Ministers. It is considered by government to be the next big reform for the energy system and important to achieving the AEMO’s Integrated System Plan (ISP). Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, recognises the key will be “making sure that those consumers who have solar panels or a battery or an electric vehicle are able to get maximum benefit out of it for themselves and also for the grid”. There’s no doubt that will be important; equally there is no doubt that it is not simple to achieve, nor a certainty. With the grid intended to serve customers, not the other way around, customer interests will need to be front and centre as the roadmap is rolled out. We take a look.
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Made in Australia: The Solar Challenge
While Australia is seeking to support a domestic solar industry through policy measures one constant question is how Australia can hope to compete with China? Australia currently manufactures around one per cent of the solar panels installed across the country. Recent reports and analysis highlight the scale of the challenge in trying to develop homegrown solar manufacturing, as does the example of the US, which has been looking to support its own capabilities while introducing measures to also restrict Chinese imports. We take a look.
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