An Australian community group has launched a new guide to help solar developers to improve biodiversity on project sites and build trust in neighboring communities without compromising PV generation capacity.

Modeling shows that shifting just one-third of the electricity consumption of commercial and institutional buildings in Australia to the middle of the day, coinciding with peak solar supply, would create almost 12 GW of new peak capacity in the National Electricity Market.

Australian researchers have developed multi-stage algorithms to remotely detect and accurately diagnose underperforming solar panels in residential and commercial PV systems.

The Australian federal government’s 32 GW Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) is already bearing fruit, with a competitive tender seeking 600 MW of energy storage capacity in Victoria and South Australia attracting 19,000 MW of project proposals.

The first stage of Acen Australia’s planned 720 MW New England Solar Farm in Australia is home to more than 6,000 sheep, which graze beneath the panels in a proof-of-concept agrivoltaics project.

The government of the Australian state of Queensland says it has committed AUD 2.5 million ($1.6 million) to progress the development of an “Australian first” solar-panel recycling scheme, in preparation for “thousands” of PV modules installed on rooftops and in large-scale solar farms that are approaching end of life.

Zen Energy has secured approval from Australia’s WaterNSW to investigate how to transform Sydney’s biggest water storage facility into a 1 GW pumped hydro project capable of supplying on-demand power for up to eight hours.

Solar panel manufacturing in Australia has reached a new zenith with a commitment by two industry leaders to explore the possibilities of establishing a commercial-scale advanced solar panel manufacturing facility in the heart of New South Wales coal country.

A new report has called for large PV waste and recycling facilities to be established in major Australian cities as a matter of priority with solar waste predicted to reach 100,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to 1.2 GW per year, by the end of the decade.

The Australian government has granted environmental approval for UK developer Lightsource bp to proceed with its plans to build Australia’s largest solar farm and battery energy storage system on any of the country’s main electricity grids.