This Week in Solar: Amazon signs first renewable energy project in Australia, and more

1. Amazon signs first renewable energy project in Australia

Amazon has announced its first renewable energy project in Australia as part of efforts to reach an 80% clean energy target by 2024 and 100% by 2040.

2. Wind and solar plants will soon be cheaper than coal in all big markets around world, analysis finds

While some countries are moving faster than others, the analysis by the Carbon Tracker Initiative, a climate finance thinktank, found renewable power was a cheaper option than building new coal plants in all large markets including Australia, and was expected to cost less than electricity from existing coal plants by 2030 at the latest.

3. Australia’s NSW plots 17.7GW green energy push across three zones

New South Wales (NSW) has committed to deploying 17.7GW of solar, wind and storage over the next decade, in order to replace retiring generators and hit net-zero emissions by 2050.

4. NSW Government upscales solar PV deployment and drives EVs towards 2030

This weekend, NSW Energy and Environment Minister Matthew Kean released the state plan for accelerating emissions reduction to 35% by 2030.

5. Could Australia sit at the centre of a zero-carbon economy?

A framework is being developed that could place Australia at the centre of the Asia Pacific’s future energy map through the use of renewables.

6. Australian researchers smash efficiency record for ‘tandem solar cells’

Researchers at the Australian National University set a new efficiency world record for ‘tandem solar cells’, which stack two different types of solar modules on top of each other to achieve dramatic increases in performance.

7. Huge Dundonnell wind farm begins production in Victoria

The $560 million Dundonnell wind farm is the largest renewable energy project of the six that won a support agreement under the state government’s first renewable energy auction, designed to try and ensure the state meets its targets of 40 per cent renewables by 2025 and 50 per cent by 2030.

8. Trina Solar opens Australian orders for new 500W PV modules

Another day, another new high-efficiency solar module launched onto the Australian market, this time from China-based Trina Solar.

Trina said on Monday that it had begun taking orders for a new range of solar panels – Duomax V and Tallmax V – set to arrive in Australia later this year, and promising to deliver more than 500W of power, module efficiency up to 21 percent, and potentially cut the cost of solar generation by up to 4 percent.