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.

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.

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.

The Australian-Singaporean group behind a proposed 20 GW solar PV farm and 42 GWh battery energy storage project under development in Australia’s remote far north has hinted that other, similar-sized projects are already in the pipeline.

Rio Tinto has confirmed that Energy Developments Ltd. is set to start construction of a new PV array and battery storage system that will more than triple the generation capacity at the miner’s AUD 2.6 billion ($1.9 billion) bauxite mining operation at Weipa, in the Australian state of Queensland.

The Australian state of Queensland’s aim to become a leading producer and exporter of green hydrogen has received a boost, as state-owned electricity generator Stanwell has teamed up with a group of Australian and Japanese companies to launch a feasibility study for a proposed large-scale production and export project.

SunDrive said it has created the most effective commercial-sized silicon solar cell in the world, achieving an efficiency figure of 25.54% in testing carried out by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH).

The suitability of vanadium redox flow battery technology for Australian residential and commercial applications will soon be tested, as Perth-based storage specialist VSUN Energy plans to deploy three 5 kW/30 kWh flow batteries.

Australia’s newest planned renewable energy zone has been “swamped” by investors, with the New South Wales government revealing that 34 GW of new solar, wind and energy storage projects have already been proposed.

The world’s biggest solar PV and storage project is set to get even larger with the Singapore-based Sun Cable announcing it plans to increase the renewable energy generation and storage capacity of the $26 billion Australia-ASEAN Power Link being developed in northern Australia.