The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded $41.5 million in funding across 13 research projects to support research and development (R&D) and commercialisation activities that aims to significantly reduce the cost of solar.
Funding for ultra low cost solar R&D will build on ARENA’s previous investment into solar PV and is supporting projects that align with ARENA’s ‘Solar 30 30 30’ target of 30 per cent module efficiency and 30 cents per installed watt at utility scale by 2030.
To support this ambitious timeframe, funding has also been made available to focus on commercialisation prospects, which will take place after each project’s core R&D phase, to assist getting the new technologies into the market.
The funding has been awarded to researchers from three Australian universities: The University of New South Wales (UNSW), The Australian National University (ANU) and The University of Sydney (USYD).
ARENA initially opened for applications in February last year and increased the funding allocated by a further $1.5 million due to the strength of the applications that have the potential to reduce the levelised cost of solar PV and improve cell and module efficiency across two streams:
- Stream 1 – Cells and Modules: Building on Australia’s leading track record of R&D and innovation in solar cells and modules ($27.5 million in funding)
- Stream 2 – Balance of System, operations and maintenance: Seeking to broaden the approach to accelerate innovation that can drive down the upfront and ongoing costs of utility scale solar PV in the field ($14 million in funding).
Ultra low cost solar will be a key input into ARENA’s strategic priorities for scaling up the production of low cost renewable hydrogen and unlocking decarbonisation pathways for heavy industry including low emission materials such as green steel and aluminium.
ARENA has championed ultra low cost solar and set an ambitious target of ‘Solar 30 30 30’ to improve solar cell efficiency to 30 per cent and reduce the total cost of construction of utility scale solar farms to 30 cents per watt by 2030.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the funding will go to some of Australia’s leading universities and researchers in solar PV that have helped to make Australia world leaders in solar innovation.
“Australia’s solar researchers have helped to make solar PV the cheapest form of energy in history, but to create a future in which Australian solar energy supplies the world with clean power, fuels and products, we need to be ambitious and drive the cost of solar even lower,” Mr Miller said.
“ARENA is supporting these universities with $41.5 million in funding to get behind the target of ‘Solar 30 30 30’ to deliver ultra low cost solar, helping to optimise Australia’s transition to renewable electricity and achieve our emissions reduction targets.”
Since 2012, ARENA through its R&D programs has committed $118.5 million in grant funding to 145 solar PV projects with 17 institutions. In addition to this, ARENA has also supported the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP) with $128.99 million in funding over 18 years up until 2030.