MEMBER PRODUCTS and SERVICES IN LATE SEPTEMBER the world’s largest companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Walmart and Astra Zeneca, came together virtually as part of Climate Week 2020. Discussions centred on global opportunities for change, innovation and scalable solutions to contain global warming while delivering greater prosperity for all. LONGi Founder and President Li Zhenguo (pictured) was a keynote speaker, and the only business leader representing a Chinese company and major PV manufacturer. He shared his vision on how solar technology is helping the world address climate change and reiterated LONGi’s commitment to making clean energy more affordable and accessible with progressive technology and cost reductions. “The value of solar energy is still underestimated” Li said, explaining LONGi’s commitment to reducing the ‘Levelized Cost of Energy’ of PV power generation and making solar power cheaper and more accessible to the masses. Li also shared ‘Solar for Solar’, LONGi’s commitment to using clean energy to produce clean energy products.
SONNEN HAS LAUNCHED a new
In its commitment to clean, renewable energy and to the RE100 initiative, LONGi has pledged to achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity use for its global operations by 2028 and is encouraging supply chain partners and customers to deliver on the RE100 initiative together. www.longi-solar.com.au
FRONIUS FAREWELLS GALVO
home energy rewards program which provides financial incentives to eligible sonnenBatterie owners. The program rewards owners who provide access to their battery to enable sonnen to support the stability of the energy grid. Existing or new sonnenBatterie customers located in the National Electricity Market who register for sonnenConnect will receive up to $41 per month depending on their location. To be eligible, they will need to have a sonnenBatterie that has at least 4kWh capacity, are not on a sonnenFlat energy plan or connected to a Virtual Power Plant program. sonnenConnect customers will continue to receive a feed-in tariff for any unused energy that is exported to the grid from their energy retailer. Nathan Dunn, CEO of sonnen Asia Pacific said, “Australia is the first country in the world we’ve chosen to launch sonnenConnect. With the growing uptake of rooftop solar and home batteries globally, utilities are recognising the importance of home batteries in Frequency Control Ancillary Services or what is known as demand response, to stabilise the grid when there is a surge in the demand for electricity.” “Through sonnenConnect, we are rewarding customers who are providing us access to their sonnenBatterie when needed for demand response. sonnenConnect provides our home battery owners with an additional revenue stream which allows them to continue to receive a feed-in tariff from their energy retailer,” Nathan explained. “Not only will they enjoy being energy independent, sonnenBatterie owners are working together as a community to stabilise the energy grid that connects millions of homeowners in the National Electricity Market.” https://sonnen.com.au/connect/
As installers will know, the Fronius Galvo was the first SnapINverter to be delivered to Australia, initiating a wave of popularity encompassing the Primo, Symo and Eco range. Although the topology of inverters moved to transformerless based, the Galvo continued to find a home in Australia, most commonly used as a replacement inverter where a like-for-like product was required to maintain consumers’ feed-in tariffs. Recent changes to many DNSPs volt-var requirements have seen the use of the Galvo further limited, leading to Fronius Australia’s decision to cease production of the unit. The move frees up production capacity for Primo, Symo, Eco and the new GEN24 Plus range of products to meet the ever-increasing demand for inverters in Australia. Note: Fronius Australia continues to hold limited local stock of the Galvo-series, and expects to see the product remain available for up to six months, subject to demand. www.fronius.com/en
ACCOLADE
The SENEC.Home V3 Hybrid battery is an ABA100 Winner for New Product Innovation in the Australian Brand Awards 2020, which recognise innovative consumer products that offer a point of difference from their competitors. SENEC established itself in the Australian market just three years ago, following a decade of success in its native Germany. The company has earmarked Australia “one of the world’s fastest growing storage markets”, as a key focus with plans to become a household name. To date more than 40,000 SENEC battery systems have been installed worldwide, facilitating peer-to-peer trading, EV recharging and cloud technology. https://senec.com/au
Informa tion, views and technical details on this pa ge supplied by Smart Energ y Council Member
46 SUMMER 2020
