However, no matter how big is the impact of the outbreak on your business, you should know that you’re not alone on this. In fact, you’re most likely to be in a similar situation like the majority of solar businesses or installers worldwide since more than 60% of the world’s solar panels are manufactured in China, according to data from SunWiz.

Blue solar cell panels with Shanghai skyline illuminated at night

But don’t fret, this is not the right time to panic over the outbreak. Remember that you can do something to improve the situation. Here are some tips to consider:

• Look for alternative solar products available in the market

If your option is to wait for the situation to get better in the Solar PV industry, we might be looking by early April before it happens. We are sure that you don’t want to lose your customers by then. The option you have right now is the look for alternative solar products that of the same quality of the products you are offering. There are plenty of products on the market. You just need to research and expand your options in this kind of situation.

Powerark Solar can offer you a good alternative particularly for solar panels. 

• Develop a mitigation plan

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a multinational professional services network, is also suggesting for you to create a mitigation plan. Businesses should recognize supply chain, labor requirements and operational requirements of current projects, evaluate what outcomes may happen and oversee dangers that may appear.

1. Identify – Identify the key areas where 2019 Novel Coronavirus may detrimentally affect your business. Look at the supply chain, labor prerequisites or operational requirements of current projects or the designs for projects which are under negotiation.
2. Assess – Assess the effect of 2019 Novel Coronavirus on your business by thinking about the probability of certain occasions happening and the potential outcomes emerging from those occasions. Outcomes might be to cost, plan, specialized execution and capacity. You should consider the different legally binding liabilities that may emerge under the scope of Project Agreements that have either been agreed or are in the way toward being arranged.
3. Treat – Implement activities to diminish the effect of 2019 Novel Coronavirus on your business and mitigate (to the extent possible) the dangers where you can. This may include looking for external legal advice to decide the hazard under the various project agreements and conducting commercial discussions or subcontractors.
4. Stay Informed – The implications of 2019 Novel Coronavirus are yet to be completely observed or understood. It is imperative to remain educated regarding any developments of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (e.g. supply chain issues, visa restrictions and/or trade restrictions that may be implemented by government authorities). The circumstance is in a condition of flux and parties are urged to continually assess and triage the different effects of 2019 Novel Coronavirus on their business.

Article Source:

PwC (2020, March). COVID-19 and the solar industry. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com.au/legal/assets/legal-covid19-solar-industry-040320.pdf

Want to see more articles like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

The post PV Industry: What to do in the midst of the outbreak? appeared first on Powerark Solar.

The OpenNEM.org.au highlighted this milestone with the graph below. NEM provides power to all states except Western Australia and the Northern Territory which attain their own grid.

                                                                 

Energy Breakdown

This milestone was reached when the combined output of rooftop solar-based, large- scale wind, and large scale solar arrived at 50.2%. Additionally, the graph indicates that Rooftop Solar contributed to approximately 23.7% of the overhaul, followed by wind power which contributed 15.7% then large-scale solar 8.8% and lastly Hydro at 1.9%. The states that contributed to this achievement include Victoria, NSW, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania.

RET Contribution

Additionally, this great achievement falls in line with the government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET). The aim is to reduce emissions from the electricity sector and achieve a minimum of 20% of energy coming from renewables by 2020. A short few weeks away. The commitments made by the government for solar renewable sources of power is to supply 33,000 gigawatt-hours (over 23.5%) of Australia’s power by 2020. Minister Frydenberg has secured in the 23.5% sustainable power source focus by 2020.

RET has two schemes, The Large-Scale RET and the Small-Scale RET scheme. The Large-scale RET financially supports the creation and expansion of new renewable energy power stations (for example, solar or wind). While the Small-scale RES creates a financial incentive for small businesses to install eligible small-scale renewable energy sources such as residential solar panels. Moreover, it is expected that the larger-scale RET will make up most of the energy sources needed, by 2020. 

By having more than half of the National Grid demand met by renewable sources of energy, we can foreshadow positive movements towards long term clean energy consumption.

References:

Mannihiem, M. (2019, October 8). Renewable energy supplies more than half of Australia’s National electricity market for the first time. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-07/half-of-biggest-electricity-market-supplied-by-green-energy/11680766

Want to see more article like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

The post An Australian first! The National Grid has hit 50% Renewables! appeared first on Powerark Solar.

How will the cap increase be applied?

To achieve thrice the number of solar home installations under the Victorian Solar Rebate Program, for the month of September, the Government will be running two separate rebate allocations each month. This is to smooth out the creases formulated in the previous months, which caused turbulence for some Victorian solar installers cutting their daily installations to more than half they had prior to the rebate. The splitting of the scheme and running it with thrice the number of spots available is a more appropriate method to meet the demand for discounted rooftop solar.

Additionally, by tripling the number of Victorian Solar rebate applications the total has increased to over 50 percent totaling about 60,000 spots!

Under Andrew’s government policy, the initial number of rebates available was capped at 3,333 or $2,225 off the total cost of the residential PV solar system.  Although this previous scheme received heavy criticism from the industry. Although the purpose was to simply place a cap on the booming market, it sadly forced many Victorian Solar businesses to discontinue in the industry as there was a large decrease in solar installations. This cap increase will affect solar installation businesses in a positive way providing more work for local victorian installer businesses.

SEC Chief John Grimes has publicly addressed the press stating that this Victorian Solar caused a mess of Australia as there will be triple the number of solar installation jobs available in Victoria for the month of September due to the high demands.

When are the changes taking effect?

The next Solar PV rebate allocation will be 6,500 and will be released on Monday 2nd September.  In order to continue to keep up with the extreme backlog in rooftop PV solar in Victoria, this increase will aid local Victorian installer businesses to increase their workload.

For more details about the Victorian solar rebate program, visit the Solar Victoria website.

Article Source:

Marine, B. (2019, August 28). Solar panel demand sparks Victorian rebate expansion. Retrieved from https://7news.com.au/news/vic/solar-panel-demand-sparks-victorian-rebate-expansion-c-422791

Want to see more article like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

The post Victorian Solar Rebate Program: The Cap has been Increased! appeared first on Powerark Solar.

Solar Energy is said to run smoothly and remains a viable option for energy.

The Australian Institute states the solution for Victoria’s poor performing gas and coal plants is to turn to renewables for reliability. Earlier this year 40% of Victoria’s coal power plants were out of action due to a heatwave which causes them to close, during this time solar energy continued to take the heat and fed the state with a reliable source of energy.
Over the years of optimised research, Solar energy has been consistent in over stepping gas and coal plants where they have failed. While coal energy continues to fail on extreme heat days, Australians are able to turn to solar for a consistent supply of energy. Richie Merzian, Director of the Australian Institute climate and energy programme states
“ It’s time Victoria expedited the transition over to clean energy and that means shutting down brown coal fired power stations over the next decade”.

Yallourn Power Station, which has emitted the utmost highest level of climate pollution of any power station in the country, is currently going to keep generating energy until its closure in 2032. Its closure fits in line with the promises made by the Government prior to the election earlier this year, having an increase in renewables by 2020.

Article Source:

Carey, A. (2019, June 16). Victoria’s coal-fired power plants the least reliable in the country. Retrieved from https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/victoria-s-coal-fired-power-plants-the-least-reliable-in-the-country-20190614-p51xvb.html 

Want to see more article like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

The post Victorian Coal: National Energy Market’s most unreliable source experiencing breakdown after breakdown! appeared first on Powerark Solar.

TÜV Rheinland’s All Quality Matters Award is the most aggressive and exceptionally respected industry award for PV modules, inverters, battery storage systems, and solar components perceived for its goal and dependable assessment process and authoritative unbiased choice system. The careful assessment of energy yield simulation depends on the performance testing of samples randomly selected from large scale manufacturing under global conditions that range from the irradiance of 100-1100W/m2 and temperatures of 15-75°C. Jinko Solar positioned first in testing conducted for the mono group and was perceived for remarkable energy yield and its top-notch standards.

Dr Jin Hao, Vice President of Jinko Solar remarked, “I am pleased to have followed up our win in the poly group last year by winning the energy yield simulation award for the mono group this year. Our R&D team remains dedicated to the development and application of cutting-edge technologies. We continue to accumulate our mono technology and are working to ensure the stable and highly-efficient performance of our modules in PV plant operations.”

Solar panels’ quality is the way to guarantee genuine electricity capacity in the field and secure PV project investment. A low-quality solar panel will meet a progression of module failures like small cracks brought about by the vibration during transportation, and back sheet failures caused by ambient humidity or ultra-violet radiation, lessening fundamentally the power output in the real working condition. At the point when the module failure happens, Engineering, procurement and construction should close down the entire string to replace the broken solar panel, which takes a few days or months relying upon the provider’s response speed. During downtime, the whole string won’t mostly produce power, hauling down the investment return.

About Jinko Solar

Jinko Solar is one of the world’s biggest and premier solar PV module producers. Jinko Solar distributes its solar products and pitches its solutions and services to a diversified universal utility, business and private customers base in Australia, China, the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, South Africa, India, Mexico, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, and different nations and areas. Jinko Solar has established a vertically integrated solar product value chain, with an integrated yearly capacity of 9.7 GW for silicon wafers, 7.0 GW for solar cells, and 10.8 GW for solar modules, as of December 31, 2018.

Jinko Solar has more than 12,000 employees over its 6 production offices worldwide.

Powerark Solar is proudly the Number 1 distributor partner of Jinko Solar in Australia.

To discover more about Jinko Solar’s products, click here: /jinko-solar-2/

Want to see more article like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

The post Another Win for Jinko Solar from TÜV Rheinland! appeared first on Powerark Solar.

The proposed program will be set up by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and is expected to benefit up to 4,000 schools across Australia by giving access to concessional advances and supporting the production of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) which practically connects solar and battery systems to produce energy on site and different services to the energy system.

As per Labor’s Solar Schools program, financing will be given through concessional credits that can be utilized to buy solar system as well as battery systems, either by schools or VPP project developers. Schools with existing solar panels and batteries will be able to get to the program and upgrade to a more current or bigger system.

In a media discharge from the Clean Energy Council, Chief Executive Kane Thornton said solar with on-site battery storage is a practical solution that can help schools take advantage of the sun’s energy amid term, as well as being of tremendous benefit to the energy system over the summer break.

“The $1 billion loan program announced by the ALP today would lead to a big increase in energy storage across the country, helping to improve the reliability of the energy system. These systems are also a fantastic educational resource to give students a first-hand glimpse at Australia’s move to renewable energy,” Mr Thornton said.

Benefits to Schools

Estimated savings for schools will change dependent on the size of the system however could possibly save small and big schools thousands in power charges every year. The program could also give an income stream from offering abundance control back to the lattice through VPPs.

In view of Clean Energy Council analysis, the evaluated savings figures can be found in the table below.

Schools make a great contender for solar and the formation of VPPs because they tend to use energy when demand is low and are vacant for long periods of time during the holidays, for example, summer when demand is frequently higher. The distributed system would deliver excess energy back to the grid through VPPs, diminishing electricity costs for family and businesses also. Utilizing smart technology, the interlinked systems will improve the dependability of the system and increase market rivalry.

Benefits to the energy grid

By giving more energy and system security and dependability services into the grid, Labor’s Solar Schools VPPs will have significant quality and stability benefits for the grid all in all, particularly over December and January when system reliability is experiencing tension because of demand spikes and unscheduled unit blackouts at maturing plants.

Extra services provided to the grid by school VPPs to support system functionality that includes frequency control services; voltage guideline and power factor control services; and back-up functionality in the event of grid blackouts.

Australian Renewable Energy Agency has stated, “As we transition to a more decentralised energy system, VPPs have an important role to play in harnessing the collective potential of consumer-owned energy assets like rooftop solar, batteries, smart appliances and electric vehicle charging. VPPs could see vast improvements in the reliability of the network and an increase in market competition which will ultimately benefit all customers,”

The program will add to Labor’s pledge to modernise Australia’s power system; convey 50 per cent of generation from sustainable power sources by 2030, and help accomplish Labor’s emissions reduction targets.

The Labor’s plan is a strategic and aggressive move of the government to promote sustainable energy not only to Australian households but also schools. This will be a good start to instil to students’ mind that renewable energy is the future.

Want to see more article like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

Article Source:

Clean Energy Council (2019, April 30). Labor’s Solar Loan Program to let the Sun Shine on Australia’s Schools. Retrieved from https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/news/labors-solar-loan-program-to-let-the-sun-shine-on-australias-schools

The post Australian Schools to receive $1 Billion Solar & Battery Loan Program appeared first on Powerark Solar.

Fortunately, days before the election, consumers can expect a good amount of savings starting April 30. Australian Energy Regulator is set to launch a “pricey safety net” which includes energy retailers setting their prices against the regular market prices. The legislature has said the change could enable families and businesses to save hundreds of dollars of which will be reflected in electric bills starting 1 July 2019. In the first week of April, additional energy policies were declared to address environmental and electricity concerns. Here are a few of the things that the political parties are considering:

Liberal Party

ONE-OFF ENERGY PAYMENT

One-fourth of Australia’s qualified voters can anticipate that a one-off installment can cover the rising cost of electric bills. This is an Energy Assistance Payment of $75 and $125 for singles and couples respectively. This will be paid into the financial balances of 3.9 million veterans, carers, single guardians, matured beneficiaries and individuals who receive the inability to support pensions benefits before July, according to News Corp reports.

“This is acknowledgment that there are cost-of-living pressures and this support is going to go to around four million Australian, pensioners, aged pensioners and those on the disability support pension, single parents payments and veteran payments,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.

SUPPORTING COAL AND RENEWABLES

Meanwhile, the Morrison Government has officially declared that it will put $1.4 billion in equity towards the massive expansion of the Snowy Hydro scheme and another $56 million to quicken the delivery of the Marinus Link, an interconnector to produce power between Victoria and Tasmania. This initiative is expected to force energy prices down and make power more reliable.

The link is just one of 12 plans short-listed for conceivable government support after 66 articulations of interests were gathered. Others include gas and hydro projects as well as a small coal overhaul venture in NSW in Lake Macquarie.

The shortlist of projects for the Underwriting New Generation Investment program.
(Source: Supplied)

Labor Party

RENEWABLE ENERGY PLAN

A massive increment in sustainable energy investment would make 70,000 jobs and lower household electricity bills under Labor’s energy plan. Labor will double the initial investment in the Clean Energy Finance Corporation from $10 billion to $20 billion, to help new renewable power generation and capacity. Moreover, they will urge people to install solar batteries by giving $2000 discounts for 100,000 families, with an objective of one million batteries by 2025. Also, as part of their objectives, a large portion of the cars sold in Australia in 2025 is expected to be electric controlled and by 2030 the move against oil motors would see half of all passenger vehicles on streets powered by electricity.

Labor says it would work with industry to cut pollution while ensuring businesses with a high dependence on low-cost electricity while remaining to be competitive in the foreign markets. “Labor’s approach isn’t about punishing polluters, it’s about partnering with industry to find real, practical solutions to cut pollution, in a way that protects and grows industry and jobs,” says the policy statement.

Aside from the energy policies mentioned above, Clean Energy Council has also suggested the following energy policies that can be adopted by the parties:

• Commit to a zero emissions electricity sector target well before 2050 and at least 50 percent renewable energy by 2030

• Accelerate reforms and financial support to develop Australia’s electricity transmission network for a clean energy future

• Encourage the uptake of energy storage and batteries

• Maintain the SRES

• Mandate solar power in all new homes

• Support innovation in finance, technology, and integration and extend the ARENA and the CEFC

• Commit to the development of a clean energy export strategy

• Support skills development to meet the demand of a growing clean energy industry

• Support the establishment of a battery manufacturing and recycling industry

• Develop a single national electrical safety body.

All parties have given a good set of plans for renewables in the country. The coming days will dictate if these schemes and projects will be improved or retained. But more than the proposed plans, the Australian households and businesses are waiting for concrete actions once the elected government is in the position.

Want to see more article like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

Article Sources:

Chang, C. (2019, April 1). Federal election 2019: The energy policies of Labor and the Coalition. Retrieved from https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/federal-election-2019-the-energy-policies-of-labor-and-the-coalition/news-story/89f6a8bc58e181f70158f3c71b6e89e5 

Clean Energy Council (2019, February 18). Federal Election Policy Recommendations. Retrieved from https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/resources/resources-hub/federal-election-policy-recommendations

The post Federal Election 2019: What can solar industry expect? appeared first on Powerark Solar.

Ginlong (Solis) has recently celebrated their accomplishment in being listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange as a public company. Being the first of its kind, the China-based company Solis, is the only stock listed company with the main business in the string inverted sector. Founded in 2005, Ginlong Solis has flourished to be a leading high-level technical research and development team, many of whom are deemed experts within the PV systems field. Until today, Solis’ stock value is over 4 billion RMB and will continue to prosper, which will further build the company’s rapport and credibility internationally.

Landing the stock code: 300763, Ginlong Solis technologies are publicly offering 20 million shares, including 20 IPO shares offered at approximately 26.64 Yuan per share.

Solis has distributed products to more than 80 countries around the globe. Their brand strategy focal point has always outlined product reliability and performance advantage against competitors. The top ten customers for Solis are mostly from Asia, Europe, United States of America, Australia and many more regions and countries throughout the world.

What does this mean for their business?

By going public on the Shenzhen stock exchange, this opportunity has given Solis the platform they needed to expand as a brand internationally. From this, the market will push the brand Solis to more countries around the globe. Having IPOs (initial public offerings) available means that Solis will have the ability to invest more frugally in new products for the Australian market. Solis is a business that customers can place their trust in and rely on for a long time. More solar research and innovation can come into the Australian solar industry via this new change, aiding and growing our current market. More and more business will grow from this positive action which will in the long term, give Solis the credibility and global recognition they need to prosper further into the trusted Australian Solar market. Australian’s will have the opportunity to invest in a well-known and trusted brand, bringing prosperities onto Australian soil.

Want to see more article like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

Article Source:
Verma, 2019, Saur Energy International ‘Ginlong ( Solis) Listed on Shenzhen Stock exchange as public company’, March 27^th 2019, web article, retrieved 8^th April 2019, https://www.saurenergy.com/solar-energy-news/ginlong-solis-shenzhen-stock-exchange-public-company.

The post Solis celebrates another milestone! appeared first on Powerark Solar.

The NSW election concluded on the 23rd of March 2019. The result is in and Gladys Berejiklian claims victory with its 47th seat and a majority in the NSW Lower House. Starting with the current government, the liberal party has not been heard of actual targets for renewable energy or emissions reduction. The more cautious Coalition government has also refused to be vocal on any plans or policies for large-scale wind or solar and was careful not to say too much about coal. Nevertheless, if the government will be true to its promise and delivers its pre-election policies, we can expect something during their term.

Earlier on, we published an article which tackled the plan of the coalition government that please the majority in the solar industry. In this article we highlighted that, the importance of solar and battery storage by introducing a 10-year solar policy called Empowering Homes program that is planned to reach 300,000 households in NSW. With the proposed policy, no-interest loans of up to $9,000 will be given to qualified homeowners to avail battery system and up to $14,000 support to purchase solar with battery storage. Apparently, this only applies to homeowners that earn an annual household income of up to $180,000.

To summarise, here are other possible plans of the Coalition government that will benefit the solar industry:

• No interest loans for solar and battery storage for 300,000 homes. This includes loans over 10 years of up to $9,000 for a battery system and up to $14,000 for a solar-battery system.
• Making it easier for strata committees to approve solar panels and batteries for apartment blocks by lowering the voting threshold from 75% to 50%;
• An extra $20 million to the Emerging Energy Program, encouraging private-sector investment in large-scale electricity and storage projects;
• $10 million for a new recycling fund for solar panels and battery systems.

If all these plans come into reality, we can expect that the number of households in NSW that currently have a solar PV system will be doubled in the years to come. Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton has agreed that the zero-interest loans of up to A$14,000 for solar and storage systems proposed by the government will help the NSW community to have an opportunity to install solar PV system since one of the biggest hindrances for households is the up-front cost.

For now, what we can do is to wait for the Berejiklian government to take action of these proposed schemes. Only then, we can say that the solar industry could celebrate with their victory.

Want to see more article like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

Article Sources:

Kenning, T. (2019, February 11). Solar and storage becomes key focus in New South Wales election battle. Retrieved from /5e625d8e7d8b3a821babdebf8ecae5ed/news/solar-and-storage-becomes-key-focus-in-new-south-wales-election-battle

Leitch, D. (2019, March 19). Will the NSW election deliver a change in electricity policy?. Retrieved from /3fa36676eb4906ee55a0d0697ed3d5ca/will-the-nsw-election-deliver-a-change-in-electricity-policy-48376/ 

Vorrath, S. (2019, February 11). Rooftop solar, batteries early winners in NSW election race. Retrieved from /3fa36676eb4906ee55a0d0697ed3d5ca/rooftop-solar-batteries-early-winners-in-nsw-election-race-57454/

The post NSW Election Result: Should Solar Industry Claim Victory? appeared first on Powerark Solar.

The people behind the project

This milestone has been achieved by the help of the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project (MREP) agreement which paved the way for the developments of Pacific Hydro. This partially-completed 80 MW wind farm located at Crowlands has now started supplying clean energy to the city. Pacific Hydro has installed 25 of the 39 turbines and energy has begun flowing into the grid, according to the deputy mayor.

The Crowland’s wind farm was funded by a power purchase agreement with the Melbourne City and 13 other councils and institutions composed of Melbourne city, RMIT, Federation Square, City of Port Phillip, Yarra City, Moreland City Council, Bank Australia, Zoos Victoria, Citywide, National Australia Bank, Australia Post, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and NEXTDC. Melbourne City Council is also the first in the country to introduce a renewable energy power purchasing agreement (PPA). The group have decided to purchase 88 GWh of electricity every year, of which half of the energy will be produced by the 80MW Crowlands wind farm.

The project that creates jobs

Aside from the fact, this is a very helpful move for the city of Melbourne, another benefit of this achievement is the creation of additional jobs. So far, the project has created more than 140 jobs during its construction and could increase until the project is totally completed in May.  There are more than 40 large-scale wind and solar projects either under construction or with pending approval in Victoria while 26 projects are already producing electricity. The sector is expected to create 6,000 annual jobs.

The result

With the implementation of the project, Victoria is still on track to surpass its renewable energy targets of producing 25% of the state’s electricity needs from renewable sources by 2020 and 40% by 2025. Though it is said to be an ambitious and expensive project, the deputy mayor has something to say – “When people say to me that it costs money to support renewable energy projects, well, we are actually paying for our renewable energy projects through our efficiency projects,” Aaron Wood said. This initiative from Melbourne challenges other states and cities to kick any doubt and hesitation towards renewable energy today and in the future.

Want to see more article like this? Subscribe to our mailing list using the form below.

Article Sources:

Vorrath, S. (2019, January 18). City of Melbourne hits 100% renewables as 80MW wind farm comes online. Retrieved from /ac7082590cf8d6e3271f6803f4c09fee/city-of-melbourne-hits-100-renewables-as-crowlands-wind-farm-comes-online/

City of Melbourne (2019, January 17). Council now powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. Retrieved from https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/news-and-media/Pages/Council-now-powered-by-100-per-cent-renewable-energy.aspx

The post Take it from Melbourne, the First Renewable-powered City in the Country appeared first on Powerark Solar.