Kori Nuclear Plant reactors 1-4 right to left | Image:  IAEA Imagebank – 04790180, CC BY-SA 2.0

Making good on his election vows, South Korea’s new president says the country will dump plans for new nuclear power generation and not extend the life of existing reactors.

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Trade case’s huge implications for employment and solar investment | Image: SEIA

If a petition made by a declared bankrupt US solar company is successful, tens of thousands of jobs may be lost says the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

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Electricity companies to count even more of Australians’ money | Image: Public Domain

Rising energy costs appear to be the third thing you can be assured of in life in Australia these days.  Here’s a look at the looming impacts in each state in relation to major electricity retailers.

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Solar panels at Kianga, NSW South Coast

Eurobodalla Shire Council says it expects to source 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy and slash its energy-related emissions 80 per cent by 2030.

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Kincoppal-Rose Bay School Installs Solar Panels

What is currently the second largest solar power system and the first at a school in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs was officially unveiled last week.

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Amerisolar Solar Modules were delisted

Update 25 Sept 2017: Amerisolar branded panels have now been relisted. You can find the approved models by searching for the manufacturer “Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Co Ltd” here.

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Solar panels branded “Amerisolar”, manufactured by Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Co Ltd, have been removed from the Clean Energy Council’s list of approved solar modules.

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Sungrow has announced the installation of solar PV and energy storage systems for five islands in the Maldives that will significantly reduce reliance on diesel based power generation.

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Renewables present a significant threat to legacy oil and gas operations, but also an opportunity that cannot be ignored says research firm Wood Mackenzie; which specialises in energy, metals and mining sectors.

With renewables being the fastest-growing primary energy source globally over the next twenty years, it’s time for oil and gas majors that are yet to jump on the clean energy bandwagon to consider doing so as the case for building a position is becoming increasingly compelling.

“A potential tipping point for the shift into wind and solar could be an anticipated decline in the Majors’ hydrocarbon production,” says the firm. ” With new resources needed to sustain volumes beyond 2025, wind and solar could step in to the breach if discovered resource commercialisation, M&A and exploration fail to deliver, or economics weigh against continued development.”

The company forecasts average annual growth rates of 6% for wind and 11% for solar power for the next 20 years. Total primary energy demand for oil is expected to grow only 0.5% annually.

Currently, global oil and gas revenue is thirty-three times that of renewables, but in 2035 will only be thirteen times greater. If renewable energy penetration accelerates even more than predicted, revenues from renewables in 2035 could equal that of US unconventional sources.

In Wood Mackenzie’s “carbon-constrained scenario”, wind and solar power combined secure a 23% share of the global power market and 6% of the total market for all energy forms by 2035.

In an interview with The Guardian, Wood Mackenzie’s director of research said the momentum behind renewable technologies is unstoppable and oil companies are now recognising this is a megatrend rather than a fad.

“There is definitely a risk to their core business,” said Valentina Kretzschmar.

Wood Mackenzie estimates a spend of US$350 billion out to 2035 on wind and solar power  is needed for the oil and gas majors to achieve the 12% market share they currently hold in the fossil fuels. While this seems an unlikely scenario, it expects costs associated with developing renewable energy projects to drop sharply over the period.

Renewables could account for over twenty percent of total capital allocation for the most active oil and gas majors after 2030 says the company.

Wood Mackenzie’s report, “Could Renewables Be The Majors’ Next Big Thing?” was prepared in partnership with GTM Research.

40.5MW Solar Facility For Mozambique | Image: Scatec Solar

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently announced provision of USD $55 million to support construction of Mozambique’s first utility scale solar PV plant.
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