Oceania

Byron Bay-based solar retailer Smart Energy says it is seeing an unprecedented surge in sales and inquiries for solar and home energy storage as consumers look to shore themselves up in uncertain times.

The state government has partnered with the German energy storage company to offer 188 families locally assembled sonnenBatteries as they rebuild their homes.

Total acquired 50% of India’s Adani Group’s solar portfolio for $510m and Shell is building its first large-scale solar farm, a 120-MW effort in Australia.

Jigar Shah, renewable energy legend, strikes again. Generate added Sunrun CEO Lynn Jurich and NYSERDA’s Richard Kauffman to its board.

While trackers for solar panels might seem a bit mundane, once you stumble into CEO Dan Shugar’s reality distortion field, trackers become kind of sexy.

Venture capital is still flowing to energy storage startups and the march to improve a wide variety of battery chemistries continues.

2019 was a year of change for the solar and energy storage industry, as we shifted from deploying pure wattage to making projects a lot smarter with oversized DC-AC ratios, up to 60% capacity factors, and solar plants that shine only at night.

Enphase’s Q3 results show a company that has turned its fortunes around, with revenues more than doubling and high profitability, but questions remain around growth potential.

Engie has been selected to supply a solar power plant in Guam with 50 MWdc of generation capacity and approximately 300 MWh of storage – with the express purpose to deliver 100% of the electricity after sunset.

The manufacturers are pushing back on the basis for the suit that their Korean/German rival has launched, arguing that there is evidence the innovations they refer to were either not new or were obvious steps forward.