This week in Solar: Sunflower solar, Solar for new houses, and more

1. IEA tells Australia it’s on wrong track on climate, more wind and solar needed

If they are to meet the “Sustainable Development” scenarios where global temperatures are kept within the bounds aimed for in the Paris climate treaty, then governments need to encourage investment in wind and solar, energy efficiency, demand management and electric transport.

2. Thanks to sunflowers, solar panels could harvest 400% more energy

The SUNbot can automatically bend towards light to achieve optimal exposure to the sun thanks to its ‘stem’, which partially consists of a material that heats up and shrinks in sunlight – causing the stem to bend, and pointing the solar panel ‘flower’ directly towards light sources.

3. Solar and battery offered as “standard” in Victoria new-build housing project

The 6,500-lot fully integrated master planned community, called Woodlea, will begin offering a $20,000 solar and batteries system at no extra cost on a limited number of the Mirvac-designed townhouses starting early next year.

4. Renewable energy supplies more than half of Australia’s national electricity market for first time

Green energy sources — mostly solar and wind — met most of the demand for the national electricity market (NEM) just before lunchtime on Wednesday, surpassing 50 per cent of supply for the first time.

5. Controversial Daintree microgrid proposal wins federal funding

Divisive plans to power Queensland’s World Heritage-listed Daintree region with a solar to hydrogen gas-based microgrid have won just under $1 million in grant funding from the federal government.

6. Rooftop solar delivers yet another record low in grid demand for South Australia

“This is yet another minimum demand record… set in South Australia and a strong signifier of how rapidly Australia’s power system is evolving,” AEMO says on its Energy Live blog.

7. Rooftop solar hits 45% of demand and sets new grid low in W.A.

“Increasing rooftop PV is continuing to shift minimum demand from the early morning to middle of the day,” the AEMO report said.

8. Neoen powers ahead as Australia’s top independent renewable energy producer

French renewables developer and big Australian energy player Neoen has reported strong revenue growth over the first nine months of 2019, driven in no small part by Australian successes.