From solar cells to solar farms: Quest for ultra-low cost PV gets $100 million federal boost

The federal government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) will invest more than $100 million across 20 research and development projects as part of its mission to further drive down the cost of solar power generation.

In what will be its largest single investment in solar PV research and development, Arena announced on Monday that it will invest up to $105.6 million across a portfolio of projects primarily being undertaken by universities across Australia.

The funding is part Arena’s 30-30-30 vision that aims to achieve 30 per cent PV module efficiency and 30 cents per watt (W) installed cost by 2030, and solar electricity below $20 per megawatt-hour.

The investment will support research aimed at accelerating the commercialisation of next-generation solar cell technology; fast-tracking ultra low-cost solar; and reducing the cost of designing, building, operating, and maintaining large-scale solar farms.

Projects to secure funding span a range of research priorities, including improving solar efficiency, cost and stability across advanced cells and modules, and innovations to improve the performance of solar farms and reduce the levelised cost of electricity (LCoE).

The investment is the next brick in the wall of ARENA’s ambition to drive down the cost of solar to 30 cents per watt by 2030 as well as ensure that Australia remains at the forefront of solar innovation.

“Australia has played a leading role in the development of solar technology, and these projects will help ensure we continue to strengthen that position,” said Chris Faris, acting ARENA CEO.

“The portfolio brings together a mix of near-term improvements and breakthrough technologies that have the potential to lower costs, improve performance and accelerate the deployment of solar energy both in Australia and around the world.”

A total of 20 projects secured funding, weighted heavily to research and development being undertaken by Australia’s leading universities. The University of New South Wales (UNSW) secured funding for 12 separate research projects, alongside projects being undertaken by Australian National University (ANU), the University of Melbourne, and the University of Sydney.

Two businesses also secured funding. Newcomer Sunspence Pty Ltd was awarded $3.6 million to help develop its lightweight bifacial solar farm system, while Proa Energy Australia Pty Ltd was awarded $4.2 million to test a platform designed to help solar farms detect faults, improve performance, and reduce operating costs.

Among the recipients of funding is University of Sydney researcher Professor Anita Ho-Baillie, who was awarded $7.25 million develop more durable silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells and modules.

Partnering with Australian solar panel manufacturer Unison Solar Energy, Professor Ho-Baillie, the University’s inaugural John Hooke Chair of Nanoscience, will aim to push tandem-cell technology one step closer to becoming commercially viable. Specifically, Professor Ho-Baillie and her team will aim to demonstrate the reliability of silicon (Si)-perovskite cells under a series of industry standards.

“There isn’t much room for silicon to improve because its theoretical limit is only 30 percent – but for perovskite-silicon tandem, it is about 40 percent,” said Professor Ho-Baillie. 

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to make research we’ve been doing at the University for the last six years translational. We’d love to be able to see it through, to get Si-perovskite technology to the stage of being commercially viable for clean power generation.”

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