ARMSA Academy’s Post

“It will be a challenge for all of us to change the way we use electricity, but since Australians are so fond of their solar power, there are reasons to be hopeful” - James Button, Editor of The Conversation’s ‘Getting to Zero’ series. They say you should start the new year the way you would like to live the rest of it. On 31 December 2023, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) reported that rooftop solar “contributed two-thirds of Victoria’s, and 101.7 per cent of South Australia’s, total energy needs – the first time rooftop solar exceeded total demand in any region of the National Electricity Market”. It drove down electricity prices, which is an exciting prospect for 2024, but it’s also causing plenty of consternation. Anna Bruce, Mike Roberts and Baran Yildiz have long been considering Australia's unique opportunity to capitalise on our rooftop solar leadership, drawing on the findings of many research projects including those funded by the Australian Research Council, RACE for 2030, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and several distributors. Based on this deep work, we’ve distilled some ideas, that are hopefully useful to the discussion, in a piece that The Conversation Australia + NZ published today: https://lnkd.in/gr-hUabx Cheers everyone, to an exciting new year 🥂

New research from Friends of the Earth shows that implementing onshore wind and solar projects could generate enough electricity to power all households in England two and a half times over. The study confirms that investing in renewable energy is the way forward, and we should continue to do so. Take a read: https://lnkd.in/egk6x9qd #RenewableEnergy #CarbonEmissions

I'm very surprised to find this morning that I have been blocked by Bryan Groenendaal from Green Building Africa when I criticised his article about levelised cost of Solar PV energy. My comment was not malicious and based on cutting edge, peer reviewed academic research on the topic - which begs the question if green energy pundits are becoming increasingly driven by blind ideology? Although I'm a steadfast supporter of green energy technologies, I'm quite surprised by his reaction. Herewith my comment: "Although true at face value, the levelised cost of energy calculation for Solar PV has a number of serious limitations since it doesn't take into account any balancing costs or capacity factor variability. When taking these blind spots under consideration, the full levelised cost of energy for Solar PV can be as much a 40 times higher than the cheapest fossil fuel alternative, which means that renewable energy can't occupy more than 25% market share before the full system costs exceeds the fossil fuel baseline. Viable supplement? - for sure. Sustainable alternative? - not a chance.

Global renewable energy generation is expanding rapidly, with global investment in solar power topping all other energy generation technologies combined. Did you know that the Netherlands has four times more solar capacity than Canada, with 16.6% of electricity generation in the country coming from solar? The country leads Europe in solar energy per capita, which is made possible through consistent government policies. With elections creating turbulence, there is a risk that the progress of renewable energy may come to a halt. Greengate understands the valuable contributions of renewable energy sources, such as solar, and continues to search for innovative ways to promote renewable energy technologies and policies throughout Canada and beyond. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4cyXJFe  #RenewableEnergy #EnergyInnovation #SolarGeneration

Renewable energy makes history: Solar power led the charge in 2023, accounting for over half of new electricity capacity in the US - a milestone not seen since WWII. With supply chains open, solar installations soared, driven by utility-scale projects in Texas and California. Powering through challenges, the solar trajectory remains strong and is poised for continued growth. Learn more about the monumental shift towards clean energy at: https://lnkd.in/gU29uiVt Learn how you can implement solar to reduce your energy-related greenhouse gas emissions from our SolarKal Solar advisors today at Solarkal.com! #SolarPower #RenewableEnergy #CleanEnergyFuture

Neoen Inaugurates 93 MWp Fox Coulee Solar Farm in Alberta, Expected to Generate 100 GWh Annually Neoen , a global leader in renewable energy production, has announced the launch of its Fox Coulee solar farm in Starland County, Alberta. The plant, with a capacity of 93 MWp, began producing clean electricity in December 2023 and is expected to be fully operational in the coming weeks. Once operational, it will generate approximately 100 GWh of green electricity annually, enough to power around 20,000 homes and offset about 70,000 tons of CO2 per year. The solar farm is entirely owned by Neoen. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held yesterday, attended by Neoen’s Alberta team, Starland County Reeve Steven Wanstromm, […] Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dep_Kvhx #solarenergy #alternativeenergy #solarpv #pvsolar #photovoltaic #cleanenergy #cleantech #climatechange #middleeast #africa #india #asiapacific #asia #america #cleanelectricity #europe #france #neoen #northamerica #solarfarm

"The energy crisis, government inaction, and rapid cost decline has meant that those wanting an uninterrupted power supply have increasingly moved towards private, renewable energy sources." "“What you’re seeing in these numbers is households and the private sector taking matters in their own hands,” Wikus Kruger, director of the Power Futures Lab at the University of Cape Town, told Semafor." https://lnkd.in/dd569-9m #solar #solarenergy #solarsolutions #solarhybrid #solargridtied #batterybackup #hybrid #gridtied #greenenergy #sustainability #greensolutions #renewableenergy #loadshedding #alternateenergysolutions #businesscontinuity

Renewable energy solutions installed by homeowners and businesses across South Africa continue to increase. Interesting article! #solar #solarenergy #solarsolutions #solarhybrid #solargridtied #batterybackup #hybrid #gridtied #greenenergy #sustainability #greensolutions #renewableenergy #loadshedding #alternateenergysolutions #businesscontinuity

Australia is not rolling out clean energy projects nearly fast enough to reach the Australian government’s target of 82% renewable electricity by 2030. But...rooftop solar could help provide the power we need. The roadblocks facing large projects present an opportunity to ramp up the contribution of small-scale technologies in the energy transition. More than one in three Australian houses have solar panels on their roofs and Australia leads the world in rooftop solar per head. Read more: https://lnkd.in/exKB7Pwq #Solar #EnergyTransition #Australia

We are pleased to share more great news for the UK's solar industry as approval of the UK's largest solar project has been granted. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s decision to approve the largest solar farm so far will bolster energy security while helping to push down energy bills and wean the country off expensive natural gas, says the solar industry. The go-ahead for the 600-megawatt Cottam solar farm is expected to save an impressive 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year – about a 0.1% of the UK’s entire annual emissions – while powering an average of 180,000 homes per year. Read more here- https://lnkd.in/e4VJJagy