Funding for large scale green energy projects and R&D is to be stripped from the control of Energy Minister Martin Ferguson and put under the control of two new independent statutory bodies. The newly formed Australian Renewable Energy Agency will take charge of $3.2 billion of funding for R&D, pilot and demonstration projects, around half of which is already committed, while a Clean Energy Finance Corporation will also be created to ensure the continued rollout of commercial projects around the country.

The creation of two new bodies independent of the Department of Energy was considered to be crucial, as funding for new technologies such as geothermal and solar were constantly delayed and was always focused around the narrow measures of grants based schemes, which made it impossible for many new companies to raise matching funds.

The new institutions will likely consider loan guarantees as well as tariffs to encourage the deployment of renewables, as these have proved to be the most effective in the US and Europe, as well as in South America and Asia. Further details are likely to be unveiled at a solar summit to e held in Canberra on Friday, which will discuss the measures needed to support the rollout of large scale solar projects, which are coming down rapidly in cost and which are now increasingly recognized as critical for the transformation to a low carbon electricity grid.

ARENA will absorb the activities of 10 different programs, including Solar Flagships, the Renewable Energy Development Program, and the Emerging Renewables Fund, as well as the activities of institutions such as the Australian Solar Institute and Australian Centre for Renewable Energy. While Arena will focus on commercialization, the CEFC will have carriage over the deployment of such technologies. Details of ongoing funding will be released as part of the carbon pricing package to be released on Sunday.

Greens Senator Christine Milne said there are currently 11 different funding programs run by the Commonwealth government for renewable energy and, historically, almost none of them have been appropriately run, and many technologies and entrepreneurs had been forced overseas. “Government funding programs are announced with a big public splash, innovators and entrepreneurs start to gear up to deliver them, and, after months or years of delay, the programs are re-badged, re-allocated, scrapped or so badly designed that nobody is able to take advantage of them," she said.

Green shoots

Investment in renewable energy in 2010 jumped 32 per cent to a record $US211 billion ($198 billion), with more than half of it coming from developing countries, according to a report commissions by the UN Environment Program. The report said the increase – which shows a six-fold lift over spending on renewable energy in 2004, reflected the stimulus money earmarked after the GFC in 2008 which is now finding its way into the market, as well as sustained prices for fossil fuels and government incentives such as feed-in tariffs.

The report, Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011, was produced by UNEP in collaboration with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management in Germany and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. It said renewable power comprised 8.1 per cent of total world power generation capacity in 2010, not including hydro, compared with 7.1 per cent in 2009. Renewables accounted for 34 per cent of additional capacity brought online last year. Wind accounted for $US94.7 billion of investment projects in 2010, large scale solar was $US26.1 billion and biomass and waste-to-energy projects amounted to $US11 billion. "The tipping point, where renewables becomes the predominant energy option, now appears closer than it did just a few years back."

PV efficiency record at UNSW

Researchers at UNSW have laid claim to setting a new world benchmark for efficiency for a mass-produced crystalline silicon solar cell. The Photovoltaics Technology Transfer Team set a record of 19.3 per cent in May using a patented laser process, and have now beaten that to record 19.4 per cent in June with the same technology. The previous record was 18.9 per cent, while most commercial panels on use in rooftops have an efficiency rating of around 18 per cent.

Team manager Matt Edwards said it is a significant breakthrough, as even minor percentage gains in efficiency can make solar power more affordable. He says these gains can be made at minimal extra cost because they do not involveexTotic materials or equipment. “The exciting aspect of these records is that we achieved these results in a short time, using an industry-standard silicon wafer and modified industry-standard equipment,” he said.

Dr Edwards said the gains, achieved on a standard p-type CZ silicon wafer, had produced a low-cost cell which delivered “the best bang for your buck” of any mass-produced cell in the world. They were produced using UNSW’s patented Laser Doped Selective Emitter (LDSE) process, which uses a high-powered laser and a light-induced plating process to create ultra-fine metal contacts on the cell surface, leaving more area exposed to light to create more power.

The next step work on a new technology, double-sided LDSE which optimises both the front and rear surfaces of a solar cell and could deliver efficiencies of up to 22 per cent. “It’s another step closer to solar power costing the same as coal-fired electricity,” he said.

Lynas teams up with Siemens

Lynas Corp has formed a venture with Siemens that will guarantee supply of rare earths to the European industrial giant for use in the production of high-powered magnets used in energy-efficient engines and wind turbines. The deal comes as the world’s major industrial groups seek to lock in supply of rare earths, which are coveted for use in hybrid car engines, smartphones, iPads and other modern technologies, but which are found mostly in China.

The joint venture, which also includes Japanese investor Sojitz, will be 55 per cent owned by Siemens. It described the venture as important to secure a long term and stable supply of rare earths. Lynas CEO Nicholas Curtis said

the deal was part of its strategic objective to become integrated into the supply chains of its end customers.