Australia’s only solar panel manufacturer, Adelaide-based company Tindo Solar, has been bought by a local insulation company turned solar installer, Cool or Cosy, as part of a plans to create the largest solar retailer in Australia.
Regulators in Queensland have back-tracked on proposed rules that could have effectively banned the installation of all battery storage devices inside homes and garages, and hopes are rising that Standards Australia will also modify its proposed guidelines.
New standards are to be imposed on all new generation in South Australia as regulatory authorities scramble to ensure that the network remains stable, and amid increasing and significant concerns about the performance standards on existing, synchronous, fossil fuel generators.
A trial that could see the shuttle service between Adelaide Airport’s terminal and long-term carpark go completely driverless has been announced as one of seven projects to share in the SA government’s $10 million Future Mobility Lab Fund to drive local development of autonomous vehicle technology.
Tesla has joined the growing chorus calling for a complete rethink of Australia’s energy market rules, saying they have been designed for old-fashioned centralised fossil fuel technologies, and do not encourage all the potential benefits of battery storage.
The former head of Australia’s most notorious brown coal generator – the soon-to-be-retired Hazelwood plant – says solar PV and battery storage already represent a cheaper alternative to gas-fired generation.
South Australia’s government has unveiled its keenly anticipated new energy plan, with the aim of making itself more self-sufficient.
Elon Musk tweeted last week that he could install a 100 MWh grid storage system for South Australia in less than 100 days. That has spurred other Australia based companies to offer proposals of their own.
Elon Musk says he can solve South Australia’s utility grid instability in 100 days or less — or it’s free!
US battery maker SimpliPhi Power is making a renewed push for Australia’s booming residential and commercial battery storage market, with plans to ramp up sales of its range of modular and plug and play lithium ferro phosphate battery systems.
