Solar Energy-Solar Mounting Systems: 十月 2014

2014年10月22日星期三

U.S. Energy Secretary Moniz announces US$53 million in funding for solar R&D at SPI

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz has an interesting relationship with the solar industry. He's considered by many to be an insider, and as someone who also has strong ties to both oil and gas and the solar industry, he is perhaps the perfect representative of U.S. President Obama's “All of the Above” energy strategy.

On Wednesday at the Solar Power International trade show in Las Vegas, Secretary Moniz unveiled another US$53 million for 40 solar research and development (R&D) project through the SunShot Initiative. These will span several sub-programs, targeting reductions in both hardware and non-hardware “soft” costs.

“Cost reduction is very much a part of shaping our clean energy future,” Secretary Moniz told the crowd in the conference hall. “We have to work together to continue to grow solar at a brisk pace."

This includes more than $14 million in grants to 10 research institutions, another $14 million to 20 small businesses through the latest round of the SunShot incubator program, and $24 million to 10 solar manufacturers in support of the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative.

Moniz spoke of the need for “robust domestic manufacturing” at the conference, however despite large announcements by SolarCity and other companies, large-scale PV manufacturing continues to elude the United States.

As explored in a recent article in the October print edition of PV Magazine, the largest U.S. PV makers manufacture mostly in Malaysia and other locations in Southeast Asia. Malaysia offers a 10-year tax exemption for high-technology companies, whereas the U.S. lacks a coherent set of policies to support manufacturing.

Additionally, U.S. Secretary Moniz told the audience to expect a new round of DOE loan guarantees in 2015. However, he did not mention which technologies would be supported, and the most recent loan guarantees have gone to nuclear projects.

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EU parliament approves new European Commission

The European Parliament has approved the President-designate Jean-Claude Juncker's new European Commission, which is scheduled to take office on November 1.

Juncker's 27 commissioners won a strong majority, receiving the backing of 423 members of the European Parliament, with 209 voting against the nominees and 67 abstaining.

Juncker suffered a setback earlier this month when former Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek pulled out as nominee for the post of vice president for energy union. Bratusek resigned following a grueling confirmation hearing in which she faced harsh criticism from MEPs for her perceived lack of knowledge about the European Union’s energy market. Juncker ultimately named Slovakia's Maros Sefcovic for the energy union post.

While Miguel Arias Cañete, former Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, was confirmed as commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, he too faced tough questing during confirmation hearings about his ties to the oil industry.

Current European Vice President and Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, meanwhile, will now serve as commissioner for Digital Economy and Society.

In his speech before the European Parliament on Wednesday, Juncker said it was time for action.

"From Ukraine to Syria, to the Middle East and North Africa, our neighborhood remains shaky and unstable," Juncker said, citing the scores of immigrants arriving in Europe in search of better lives as well as the Ebola epidemic that has "seized citizens with an understandable degree of fear."

"We cannot and will not sweep these mounting problems under the carpet. We cannot and will not turn a blind eye. That is why I insist that the time for European action is now."

Among the Juncker Commission's first legislative initiatives will be energy union.
"Every day, Europe is losing out by not unlocking the great potential of our huge digital single market. Jobs that should be there are not being created. Ideas – the DNA of Europe's economy! – do not materialize to the extent they should. Let us change this for the better. In tomorrow's increasingly competitive world, Europe will only be able to thrive if we get it right on energy union."

2014年10月20日星期一

India raises JNNSM target by 75%

The Indian government finally confirmed rumors of a hefty expansion of the national Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) this week by firing the starting gun on a 75% premium on the previously targeted capacity under the current phase of the program.

Solar developers were invited to a consultation meeting in New Delhi today (Friday) to give their feedback on plans to expand the capacity developed under Phase II of the national program, from 9 GW to 15.75 GW.

But with the World Trade Organization complaint by the U.S., among others, against the domestic content aspects of the JNNSM rumbling on, it remains to be seen whether a reduction in the allocation for Indian-made projects, from 50% to 25%, will be enough to satisfy the complainants.

The government's ministry for new and renewable energy (MNRE) on Tuesday publicized its draft guidelines for the impending second batch of Phase II of the scheme, with feedback invited until the end of the month.

With the previous government having targeted 9 GW of new solar under the four-year second phase of the scheme, prime minister Narendra Modi has attempted to live up to his reputation as the darling of the solar sector by expanding the phase by two years and pitching for an extra 6.75 GW.

Modi aims to eclipse previous target

The previous administration developed 750 MW, half of it subject to DCR requirements, under the first batch of phase II projects up to March and now Modi wants to deliver 15 GW – in three overlapping tranches – up to 2019.

The first tranche would deliver 3 GW up to 2017, bundled with 1.5 GW of unallocated coal-fired power generated by the government-owned Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) power generation company to keep prices down.

That 3 GW would be delivered through large scale solar parks, starting with a 1 GW park being developed in Andhra Pradesh's (AP) Kurnool district by public entities the national Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and the AP state government-owned New and Renewable Energy Corporation of AP (NEDCAP) and Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corp. (APGENCO).

Maximum 250 MW per developer

Under the solar parks proposals, developers would bid for a maximum of 250 MW of projects, with each project accounting for 50 MW and a maximum of two India-only, and three open, schemes.

Developers will compete using the established reverse-bidding process to ensure the lowest price tariffs are successful and power will be sold through 25-year PPAs.

The domestic content requirement permits Indian manufacturers to import wafers – or starting substrates for thin film projects – and other 'raw materials' but stipulates cells and modules must be manufactured in India.

That constitutes the government's attempt to achieve the draft policy's stated aim of securing "India as a manufacturing hub insolar PV," and, if the 25% DCR figure is extrapolated across a similar 75% rise in succeeding targets, it would add up to 8.125 GW of Indian-made cells and modules by the completion of the JNNSM.

While 3 GW is being delivered under the first tranche of the 15 GW second batch of Phase II, a second three-year tranche, aiming to generate 5 GW of new solar, will start next year with a third three-year tranche, intended to deliver the remaining 7 GW of the batch, starting in the 2016/17 financial year.

Phase III of the JNNSM, from 2017-22 has a previously stated target of 10 GW of new solar capacity as part of the original 20 GW by 2022 aim.

UK farmers with PV to lose subsidies under new guidelines

The UK government has continued its assault on the development of large-scale solar following an announcement on Sunday that farmers with PV installed on agricultural land will next year no longer be eligible for farm subsidy payments through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The decision by the department of environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) to deny pro-solar farmers access to the CAP subsidy has been met with scorn by the U.K.'s solarindustry. Environment secretary Liz Truss spoke out emotively against the use of solar power on British farmland, remarking that her "heart sinks to see row upon row of solar panels where once there was a field of wheat or grassland for livestock to graze".

Worth more than $140 billion to the U.K. economy each year, British farmland has nonetheless become less profitable in recent years, prompting many farmers to seek out other uses for their land. One option has been the installation of large-scale solar farms, with the National Farmers Union (NFU) in support of such a practice.

Dr. Jonathan Scurlock, the NFU’s chief advisor on renewable energy and climate change, told pv magazine that farmers across England and Wales have been excited by the commercial opportunities that exist with solar PV.

"The NFU recently published Agricultural Good Practice Guidance with the BRE National Solar Centre showing how coupling the grazing of small livestock with field-scale solar power offers new opportunities to optimize land use for both food and energy production," Scurlock said. "Large-scale solar is already providing a lifeline for many farmers, underpinning agricultural production with additional returns that make their business more resilient."

However, Defra's announcement seeks to actively punish farmers that have chosen to install solar PV on their land, with Truss' words leaving little doubt as to where the department’s priorities lie. "I do not want to see English farmland’s productive potential wasted and its appearance blighted by solar farms," said Truss.

"That is why I am scrapping farming subsidies for solar fields. Solar panels are best placed on the 250,000 hectares of south-facing commercial rooftops where they will not compromise the success of our agricultural industry."

That last line is in chorus with the rhetoric emanating from the U.K.'s Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), which has decided to withdraw the Renewable Obligation (RO) subsidy for large-scale solar two years ahead of schedule. DECC also cites the proposed development of commercial rooftops as the U.K.’s best option for solar development, despite offering very few tweaks to the current FIT subsidy in order to make the sector more attractive.

Misguided principles
According to Defra, this latest subsidy change will save the U.K. taxpayer up to $3.5 million a year and will, in Defra’s own words, “help halt the expansion of ground-based solar farms as [the sector] will now become less financially attractive for farmers to install solar panels".

This blatant undermining of solar's growth has been labeled "damaging and incorrect" by the Solar Trade Association (STA), which has announced that it is to write to Truss arguing that the matter need not be an either/or scenario.

"The government's own planning guidance makes clear that farming practices should continue on solar farms on Greenfield land,” said the STA’s head of external affairs, Leonie Greene. “The industry, working with the NFU, has been very careful to define good practice to ensure continued agricultural production."

The STA's and NFU's guidance shows that solar fixings, when installed on agricultural land, use up just 5% of it, leaving enough room for continued agricultural practices such as sheep, geese or chicken farming. In terms of political funding, argues Greene, solar panels should be treated in the same way as orchards of fields with trees – the panels producing energy instead of food, with animals still able to graze the land beneath and between.

"Solar farms have an important role to play in conserving our countryside," added Greene. "Not only can solar power save huge amounts of greenhouse gases, but solar farms can also provide protected space for boosting biodiversity, such as wildflowers and bees, as well as providing greater income stability for farmers who face increasing weather risk due to climate change."

Defra farming minister George Eustice rebuffed these claims in an interview with the Western Morning News. "Some developers have attempted to claim that farming can continue underneath solar panels, but these are sham arguments which we reject," he said.

Come January, Defra will exercise its powers to deny eligibility for farm subsidy payments available through the CAP to land where solar panels are installed. The CAP payments are worth around $150 per acre, so a farmer with solar panels installed could lose up to $10,000 per year.

This latest knee-jerk response by the U.K. government to solar's growth is designed to do little more than "appease reactionary voices" said Alasdair Cameron of Friends of the Earth.

"Poorly sited solar farms should be dealt with through the planning system and sensible policy […] constantly fiddling with renewable energy policies and sending mixed messages to the media will cost Britain dearly in jobs, investment and energy security," he added.

The NFU, in collaboration with the STA, has calculated that just 0.14% of the total U.K. agricultural area (25,000 hectares) could host 10 GW of ground-mounted solar PV, which is half the national ambition outlined in DECC’s solar strategy. Currently, the U.K. has almost 6 GW of solar PV deployed, of which between 2.4 GW and 2.8 GW will have been newly added in 2014.

According to NPD Solarbuzz vice president Finlay Colville, there is currently between 2.4 GW to 2.5 GW of solar PV capacity installed on ground-mounted sites across the U.K.

"This sector is heavily weighted to agricultural locations, with landfill sites providing an increasing percentage share but still a small part of the overall deployment," Colville told pv magazine.

"Agricultural deployment remains above 2 GW today, having all been added since the start of 2011."

2014年10月16日星期四

Solar Energy UK examines adequacy of British grid

Solar PV in the U.K. has by far exceeded all expectations and the government has been left trying to catch up with the market developments, said Ray Noble, an advisor to the U.K.'s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and National Solar Centre (NSC).

What is even more outstanding, Noble added, is that photovoltaic farms are outperforming, making solar in the U.K. a worthy investment.

The DECC expects about 8 GW of PV installations by 2016 and 12 GW of installed capacity by 2020. This will come through various schemes such as the feed-in tariff (FIT) -- FITS will be reviewed in 2015 -- the Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROC) and the new Contracts for Difference (CfD) program starting in April next year. Household, commercial rooftop projects and ground mounted farms are all on the rise, with councils also starting to enter the market to develop community projects.

But is the U.K.'s electricity grid ready to cope with PV's stellar success and how transmission and distribution grid operator practices affect their assets' performance and generating income? A few Solar Energy UK sessions touched on the subject.

Unfortunately, solar PV power curtailments are necessary at the moment, said Steven Gough, innovation and low carbon networks engineer at Western Power Distribution, a distribution network operator (DNO) in Southwest England.

The main objective of DNOs is to maintain the smooth operation of the electricity grid and they do so by applying active power control. Of course, the best option is to reinforce the grid, but this is a costly option and developers cannot always pay for it.

Should a developer pay for a grid upgrade, for instance buying the transformer for a substation, this would be owned by the DNO. However, some developers tend to invest in grid reinforcement aiming to maximise their asset maximum power output.

Grid reinforcement also needs to satisfy certain criteria set by Ofgem, the U.K.'s energy regulator. Ofgem does not want grid reinforcement expenses to affect the consumers electricity bills, said Tamar Bourne, who worked to develop the Renewable Energy Grid Collaboration Service in collaboration with large scale developers and the Western Power DNO.

DNOs will agree to electrify solar PV plants without grid reinforcement, but they should always advise their customers that their asset power output will often need to be curtailed in order to maintain the security of the grid, Gough pointed out. An additional solution to this problem could be utilising energy storage, but although the energy storage technology exists, this is not currently happening due to a series of regulatory barriers. The DECC needs to set out the energy storage legislation for this solution to power curtailments to be utilised, Gough added.

An additional concern raised recently by various market stakeholders regards the quality of grid connections. Developers are rushing to finish their projects before the CfD mechanism enters into force in April 2015. There are therefore concerns that the engineering work connecting projects to the grid is happening very hurriedly and, as a result, clumsily. Gough, however, told pv magazine that his experience does not confirm such concerns.

Renewable Energy Grid Collaboration Service

Bourne said grid limitations in Southwest England have led to the creation of the Renewable Energy Grid Collaboration Service, which she now manages on a day-to-day basis.

The service brings together developers sharing information and eventually helping them to set up consortiums, thus enabling them to apply for grid connection as a group. That way, Bourne said, developers can share the costs of connecting to the grid and/or reinforcing it. Establishing such groups is a complicated process because not all developers share the same needs or project time framework. But the signals so far have been very good and the service is ready to expand, aiming to unlock capacity that otherwise would need to be curtailed due to lack of grid infrastructure, she said.

Panel installation begins on Washington DC universities' 52 MW solar project

An innovative solar project involving three universities in Washington, D.C., and a solar plant in North Carolina has begun taking shape after SunEnergy1 announced that it has begun installing JinkoSolar panels at the Duke Energy-owned site.

The 52 MW solar farm in eastern North Carolina, dubbed the Capital Partners Solar Project, is unique in that all solar power generated will be piped to three customers in nearby Washington, D.C., – the higher education establishments of George Washington University, American University and the George Washington University Hospital.

First conceived in June, the initial phase of the project will total 20 MW once complete. Located in Pasquotank County near Elizabeth City, commercial operation is penciled in for year-end, with the following two sites to be constructed next year.

Delivering all engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, SunEnergy1 has announced that it is “very proud” to be working on the project.

"It goes without saying how excited we are to be continuing our relationship with Duke Energy," said SunEnergy1 CEO Kenny Habul. "Elizabeth City is a great community to work with, and we’re proud to be providing construction jobs, locally purchasing goods and services, and increasing the county’s tax base as we build a first-rate solar facility."

JinkoSolar has supplied 92,000 of its UL-certified JKM300P-72 and JKM305P-72 solar panels, which boast a conversion efficiency of up to 16% and a 25-year warranty. "We are proud to have our panels powering such prominent establishments as George Washington University, American University and the George Washington University Hospital," said JinkoSolar U.S. general manager Nigel Cockroft. "We hope that sustainable energy continues to flourish in North Carolina and throughout the U.S."

For Duke Energy Renewables, the project represents its largest solar installation in North Carolina to date, and its 14th overall. The three universities in Washington, D.C., hope that a steady supply of solar power can held each establishment reach its target of carbon neutrality by 2025.

Under the terms of the project's agreement, George Washington University will receive 86.6 million kWh of solar power, American University 30 million kWh, and the George Washington University Hospital 6.3 million kWh.

German renewable energy levy to fall for first time

Transmission system operators in Germany have announced next year's renewable energy levy amount for end consumers will fall from the current 6.24 eurocents to 6.17 eurocents from January.

The move had been expected and marks the first time that the renewables levy has declined since it was introduced in 2000. Nevertheless, the reduction of 0.07 eurocents per kilowatt hour is minimal and, for most, hardly measureable. In view of the fact that the country's renewable energy levy account had an impressive surplus of €1.38 billion at the end of September, many had hoped the levy reduction would be significantly greater.

1.7 GW of additional PV systems in 2015

A joint press release issued by the country's four main transmission system operators (TSOs) -- 50Hertz Transmission, Amprion, Tennet TSO and TransnetBW – indicates they expect the additional construction of nearly 1.7 GW of photovoltaic systems in the coming year. The total amount of newly installed renewable energy capacity will reach an estimated 6.9 GW, much of it attributable to onshore and offshore wind turbines.

For the coming year, the TSOs have allocated €12.4 billion to feed-in tariff payments and an additional €11.2 billion for direct marketing – part of the German government's reform this year of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG), which mandates renewable energy producers to now sell electricity on the market in exchange for support in the form of market premiums paid on top of the market price for electricity.

Including feed-in tariffs and premiums, the TSOs expect to pay a total of €23.7 billion to renewable energy plant operators in 2015, most of which will be passed on to consumers.

Despite the hefty renewable energy levy surplus, the TSOs have also approved a 10% liquidity reserve for the coming year to mitigate possible fluctuations and cushion their impact.

IEA report: installed solar PV capacity reached 137 GW in 2013

The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power System Programme (IEA PVPS) on Monday published its 19th Trends in Photovoltaic Applications report examining PV market, industry, policy and research trends and activities as well as the integration of solar into the power sector in the 24 countries reporting to the IEA PVPS program.

The IEA PVPS' participating countries include Australia, China, the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Thailand and Turkey.

The report, which also looks at other key PV markets, found that feed-in tariffs remains the main market driver for solar and that Asia is leading in PV development.

"After years of PV market development in Europe, 2013 has been a year of growth in Asia and America," the IEA PVPS said. In total, countries participating in the IEA PVPS as well as other major markets installed some 40 GW of PV capacity in 2013 compared to just below 30 GW in both 2012 and 2011. This raised the total installed capacity in IEA PVPS countries to more than 125 GW, with further estimates placing the total installed capacity in the world higher than 137 GW.

Asian countries now represent the leading regional market for PV, with China and Japan representing 50% of all installations in 2013. American countries progressed while the European market shrank for the second year in a row. Asia installed 22.9 GW, Europe 11.2 GW and the Americas 5.3 GW.

Feed-in tariffs (FiTs) remain the dominant driver for PV market development with 74% of PV installations in 2013 having been underpinned by the incentives, according to the report. However, the IEA PVPS points out that for the first time, the share of distributed PV markets where self-consumption was at least partially driving the market, rose to 55% in 2013. Tenders represented less than 4% of the world PV market in 2013.

In 17 countries, the annual PV contribution to electricity demand has passed the 1% mark, with Italy at the top with 7.6 % and Greece and Germany above 6%. The overall European PV contribution amounted to around 3% of Europe’s electricity demand while PV contribution to the global electricity demand reached 0.87% in 2013. Australia has also passed the 2% mark and Japan 1.5%. Larger consumers of electricity such as China or the U.S. will require more PV capacity to reach this threshold, the IEA PVPS said.

The PV industry produced close to 39 GW of modules in 2013, with a market slightly above that level and production capacities at 59 GW. The lowest prices of modules stabilized in 2013, while the highest prices continued to drop. In addition, global PV sector revenue grew again in 2013 to $86 billion, following a drop in 2012, due to market growth and price stagnation.

The report stresses that "PV has extremely rapidly become a significant source of electricity in several countries worldwide. The speed of its development comes from its unique ability to cover most market segments, from the very small individual systems for rural electrification to utility-scale power plants (today above 300 MW in size)." The IEA PVPS adds that due to its broad uses, "PV prevails as an energy source of choice, as a consequence of the various characteristics that make it suitable for most environments."

Efficiency enhancements to define PV technology roadmap

Solar PV modules using solar-grade wafers, as offered by 16 of the top 20 solar module suppliers, will account for 89% of solar capacity forecast to be installed this year, according to the new NPD Solarbuzz PV Technology Roadmap report.

The market research group says thin-film panel manufacturers, led by First Solar and Solar Frontier, will supply nearly 8% of end-market demand this year, with premium crystalline silicon (c-Si) suppliers, such as SunPower and Panasonic, comprising the remaining 3% share.

"The solar photovoltaic industry will continue to offer strong growth potential for a wide range of PV manufacturing technologies," said Finlay Colville, NPD Solarbuzz vice president. "Panel power ratings are expected to constantly hit record levels of performance, provided efficiency enhancements are adequately prioritized."

Over the next five years, PV manufacturing and end-market supply will be divided across three specific technology types, according to the report: standard silicon-based manufacturing, using solar grade wafer substrates; premium c-Si based processes, using semiconductor grade material; and thin-film panels, using deposition techniques, analogous to those used in the flat-panel display industry.

"From the early growth phase of the solar PV industry through 2012, there were many differentiated and competing technologies under development," Colville said. "This made it particularly challenging to formulate a comprehensive roadmap that could be used to predict the industry's technology growth."

NPD Solarbuzz forecasts thin-film and premium c-Si module supply to increase from 5.3 GW in 2014 to 14.5 GW in 2018. New entrants to the premium c-Si category include SolarCity's proposed capacity expansion of Silevo, and First Solar's plans to move TetraSun’s PV technology into mass production.

"Market-share comparisons are benchmarks of the relative success of the various technologies, but the PV industry continues to experience high growth rates, with annual demand doubling almost every four years," added Colville. "Technologies do not need to gain market share in order to grow shipment volumes or offer significant opportunities for equipment and materials suppliers."

"Competition between c-Si technologies, based on ingots manufactured by high-grade Czochralski (CZ) growth techniques and those produced by directional solidification furnaces customized for solar PV, will ultimately determine which technologies will prevail within the industry, over the next five years," NPD Solarbuzz says

The company also predicts greater market-share adoption for advanced c-Si cell concepts. "The served addressable market for premium c-Si module suppliers is expected to grow 200% after 2015, reaching 7.6 GW in 2018, it adds.

Accelerated technology roadmap scenario forecast by PV technology type:

Colville pointed out that while cost reduction was the main focus of the PV manufacturing segment during the past two years, "the industry is now ideally positioned to finally adopt a common technology roadmap. As leading PV producers review capacity additions from 2015 onwards, being able to benchmark proposed technologies will become a critical part of factory tool design and targeted customer groupings."

UK solar and renewable energy associations go separate ways

Britain's Renewable Energy Association and Solar Trade Association are breaking up.

The organizations said on Monday that they would end their formal affiliation on January 1.

The associations became affiliated in March 2011, when the STA merged with the REA’s Solar Power Group and relaunched with representation of both the solar heating and solar power industries.

By again becoming independent next year, the associations will be able to focus on their core strengths, the organizations said in a joint statement.

"Solar power has come from nowhere at the start of this parliament to providing nearly 10% of all renewable power over the last quarter," said STA Chairman Jan Sisson. "As long as we can secure a more stable policy framework, subsidy-free solar is now on the horizon. At the same time the solar thermal sector now has the best policy framework ever under the RHI [Renewable Heat Incentive]."

Sisson added that the STA and REA have played key roles in these achievements, "which were unimaginable when we first started working together nearly four years ago." Solar has come of age and become a significant presence in the U.K., Sisson said, pointing out that as the market has expanded, so too must the STA to meet the new challenges ahead.

"It is vital that solar energy strengthens its voice, particularly with an eye on the increasingly competitive post-subsidy world," he added.

While the STA and REA may now be two separate organizations, they will continue to work side by side towards the common goal of mainstreaming renewable energy, Sisson said.

REA Chairman Martin Wright added, “Solar heating and solar power are vitally important technologies, with the potential to reduce energy costs for U.K. households and businesses. Our members want us to strengthen our offer for these important technologies.”

Wright added that the REA would achieve this "by building on the excellent capacity in our existing On-site and Renewable Power sector groups. We will continue to apply our unparalleled policy expertise and strong relations with government to the goal of securing a bright future for U.K. solar energy."

The REA and STA said they had worked together to achieve a number of goals, including helping the rooftop sector through the challenging period of drastic changes to feed-in tariffs in 2011-12 and helping to restore stable growth to the industry; helping the ground-mounted industry grow from a standing start to being one of the leading markets in the world; and taking the lead on promoting best practice in the development of ground-mounted solar farms.

In addition, the groups said they secured the government's commitment to put "rocket boosters" under the commercial rooftop market; played leading roles in a campaign against excessive import tariffs on solar products of Chinese origin; formulated policy on the Domestic and Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentives, the first in any country; and protected "embedded benefits" for generators connected to the distribution grid and campaigned to keep the government's Zero Carbon Homes agenda on track.

Despite ending their formal affiliation, the STA and REA said they would remain open to collaboration on areas of mutual interest in the future.

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