ARENA opens USD-67m challenge for solar deployment innovation

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on Wednesday launched Solar ScaleUp Challenge, a AUD-100-million (USD 66.7m/EUR 62m) global competition aimed at reducing costs across the installation, operation and maintenance of solar projects.

The challenge, which is open for eight weeks, targets innovators, customers, financiers and anyone involved in the construction and operation of projects, both from Australia and around the world.

The process will be run by Greenhouse Tech, whose online platform facilitates the formation of multi-disciplinary teams. To win grant funding for their projects, submissions could make use of innovative designs or technologies such as robotics, automation, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence.

The challenge is meant to complement the AUD-1-billion Solar Sunshot Programme, which seeks to grow Australia’s domestic solar manufacturing and commercialising local solar innovation.

“Ultra low-cost solar is critical for reducing electricity costs and decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as industry and transport. It is also a key factor in Australia becoming a renewable energy superpower, a vision which would see Australia playing a major role in supplying our key trading partners with low emissions products such as green iron and hydrogen,” commented ARENA CEO Darren Miller.

Collaboration in solar is key to reducing costs, Miller noted.

(AUD 1 = USD 0.667/EUR 0.620)

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