Presented by Energy Matters team member Virginia, we take a look at some of the stories from Australia and around the world recently added to our renewable energy news section.
In this episode, Virginia covers a call to the Australian Federal Government to intervene on the issue of solar sector support, SolarSailor announces plans to build wind and solar powered unmanned ocean vessels, solar to achieve grid parity in Europe by 2020 and REC enhances its solar panel warranty.
In this episode:
– The Australian Solar Energy Society has called on the government to provide security to the industry, after a local home solar power industry pioneer went into receivership this month. With 3,700 solar jobs already lost in New South Wales alone, the Society says it is time for the government to act. The Society says the industry isn’t looking for a handout, just appropriate legislation in all states to ensure a fair price is paid for solar generated electricity fed back into the grid. Read more.
– Australian companies SolarSailor and Forgacs Engineering recently announced an agreement to build wind and solar powered unmanned ocean vessels.
According to SolarSailor’s CEO Robert Dane, while most other UOVs are limited in the amount of time they can be deployed, the SolarSailor offers unlimited time at sea. Navies and coast guards can use the technology to cost effectively monitor military operations and boarder protection from a shore base without risk to crew safety. Read more.
– The European Photovoltaic Industry Association has conducted a study that has found that solar will become cost competitive with fossil fuels across Europe by the end of this decade. The report concludes that while regulatory and market support mechanisms such as feed in tariffs must continue, as parity gets closer, these schemes can be phased out. Read more.
– Solar panel manufacturer REC has announced an enhancement to its product warranties applying to modules sold as of the beginning of September.
Each REC solar panel is now guaranteed to provide at least 97 percent effective output during the first year of operation. The announcement comes as REC was named as the winner of the 2011 Solar Industry Award for Silicon Innovation for the second year in a row, issued by Solar Industry Magazine. Read more.
