“As Australia prepares to embark on its clean energy future with a carbon price in place, there is tremendous potential for new investment in the development and growth of solar energy in Australia,” says Mr Grimes. Mr Combet has previously stated: “The [Clean Energy Future Plan] is a very importantstep for this country, because we will be able to go about cutting our greenhouse gas emissions and driving investment in clean energy, things like solar power.”
Examples on show
Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Chief Development Officer for Energy and Climate Change Allan Jones from the City of Sydney provided case studies to demonstrate how Sydney is meeting the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target of any Australian government (70 per cent reduction on 2006 levels by 2030), and the role played by solar in meeting this target.
Experts such as Opower Director of Markets Jeff Lyng, who was instrumental in developing a number of the energy policies in Colorado, United States – including the 30 per cent Renewable Portfolio Standard – and Dr David Renne of the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory, spoke about solar resource assessment for projects.
Solar benefits
The conference also explored opportunities for ‘big solar’ to take advantage of government funding initiatives such as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Solar Flagships program.
Special Mandarin-language sessions were held, which included a review of Australian solar market trends and advice on entering the market, and over 75 peer reviewed papers on solar energy technology, policies and economics were presented.
There were also sessions focused on professional development for solar installers, featuring information from EcoGeneration contributors Warwick Johnston of SunWiz Consulting and Ric Brazzale of Green Energy Trading.
