Large-scale solar project delivery is the key risk to reaching Australia’s ambitions for ultra low-cost solar (ULCS), according to an Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) white paper.
It also says there is a need to shift focus towards how solar projects are delivered, not just what is installed, to ensure solar can underpin a competitive, secure and integrated energy system.
The Ultra Low-Cost Solar White Paper Update says cost advances seen in ARENA-supported projects, such as Built Robotics’ autonomous piling technology deployed at Fortescue’s Cloud Break Solar Farm in Western Australia, demonstrate faster, are more standardised and safer in their approach to deployment.
However, project costs remain in limbo under the pressure of workforce constraints, investment challenges, grid connection delays, and inflation, where factors such as complex development environments in remote areas, skilled labour shortages in regional areas, and evolving regulatory requirements contribute to higher costs.
To counter these, ARENA says its portfolio of ULCS solar projects engage in testing new approaches to construction, integration and test-bed environments with the aim of accelerating solar cost reductions.
The projects include 5B’s modular solar systems, Built Robotics’ automated piling, Nextpower’s deployment technologies and Luminous Robotics’ installation systems, which reduce build times, improve safety and enable more efficient delivery at scale.
ARENA Chief Executive Officer Darren Miller said that without a change to the approach in how large-scale solar is built, financed and integrated, there is a risk of missing the opportunity to bring costs down fast enough to support the next phase of the energy transition.
“Australia has a strong foundation in solar, but the next phase will depend on how quickly we can translate innovation into industrialisation,” Miller said. “The progress we’re seeing today gives us confidence in what’s possible, but the next few years will be critical to turning this potential into reality.”
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