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  The use of tiny “space-grade” solar cells and lenses have enabled Insolight to achieve a claimed 29% efficiency for its high-tech solar panels, which are currently at the commercial pre-production stage. Panel efficiency1 is continually improving, but improvements tend to be incremental. Solar panels installed on rooftops in Australia these days have a conversion efficiency of anywhere between 15% and a little over 22%, with modules towards the upper end of the range associated with top-shelf brands such as SunPower and LG. Insolight’s module has a face covered by small lenses, concentrating sunlight 200x. The light is focused on an array of high-performance 1mm2 multi-junction solar cells on a layer...

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  The Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) says along with Solliance it has achieved 30.2% ‘equivalent’ conversion efficiency for a bifacial tandem solar device. It measures this level as an equivalent because energy output of monofacial and bifacial devices is dependent on several factors as location and orientation of the PV system. “The accepted practice to determine the equivalent efficiency for bifacial designs is measuring the solar cell from the front in standard test condition (STC) and adding another 20% of this illumination from the rear. By adopting this method, the bifacial equivalent tandem efficiency of our device...

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  After scrapping what would have been the country’s first renewable energy auction in February 2019, Colombia has now auctioned 1,398 MW of renewable energy capacity under its Reliability Charge Auction with validity period being 2022-2023, according to Wind Energy and Electric Vehicle Review. At least 77% of the country’s power generation capacity comes from hydro and 18% from thermal plants. To ensure reliability of power generation capacity even during times of drought, power contracted under the country’s Reliability Charge (RC) mechanism is expected to provide reliability to the generation and supply system in Colombia. Out of the 23 plants assigned...

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The success of Tesla’s giant battery project in South Australia has attracted a lot of attention, especially from grid and energy asset operators. It led to Tesla winning contracts for other energy projects across the country and it now started to deliver Powerpacks for one of those new projects. Tesla’s 100MW/129MWh Powerpack project in South Australia came online last December. It proved to be so efficient that it reportedly should have made around $1 million in just a few days in January. However, Tesla complained that they are not being paid correctly because the system doesn’t account for how fast Tesla’s Powerpacks start discharging their power into the grid. The system is...

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  Vales Point coal-fired power station owner, Delta Electricity, will purchase most of the output of the 275 MW Darlington Solar Farm in New South Wales under a deal that both sides see as a demonstration of the growing role of renewable energy. Delta Electricity has contracted a total of 150 MW of solar power from the 275MW AC/332MW DC Darlington Solar Farm, which will be one of Australia’s largest solar PV projects once completed. The power purchase agreement has been linked with the project developer, Edify Energy, which expects to reach financial close and commence construction shortly. “This PPA...

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9)  21.6% of Australian homes have solar PV, the highest rate for residential rooftop PV in the world Australian households have strongly supported solar photovoltaics (PV) over the past decade as a means to reduce their bills and emissions from electricity consumption, making Australia a world leader in household PV uptake, says Solar Citizens in their new report “Rooftop Real Estate.” Australia has the highest penetration of residential rooftop PV in the developed world.  Premium feed-in tariffs (that were higher than the electricity retail price) for exported energy from PV systems interacted with dramatic price decreases to create a solar boom...

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There’s a lively debate raging in South Africa about the extent to which renewables should replace coal, particularly given the threat of climate change. The country’s electricity supply is currently highly dependent on coal. While it’s clear that coal power won’t disappear any time soon, is a 100% renewables-driven electricity generation scenario feasible – and desirable – in a generation from now. A major global energy transition is redefining the way electricity is generated and supplied. In the past, electricity production was dominated by large and often polluting power mega-plants distributed through big power lines. But the trend is now towards small-scale units...

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Coleambally Solar Farm has 567,800 solar photovoltaic panels. It will generate more than 390,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy per year. The development is spread across 550-hectares of land. Australia's "largest fully-operational photovoltaic facility" has commenced full-scale commercial operation, it was announced Thursday.  French firm Neoen said in a statement that its Coleambally Solar Farm in New South Wales has 567,800 solar photovoltaic panels and would generate more than 390,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy per year. This, Neoen said, is enough to power over 65,000 homes in New South Wales. Photovoltaic refers to a way of directly converting light...

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