The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has today launched its global $100 million ‘Solar ScaleUp Challenge’.
The challenge invites innovators, developers, engineers, financiers, and solar customers around the world to accelerate innovation in large-scale solar and help drive down costs.
The aim of the challenge is to stimulate greater innovation and collaboration in the solar sector in the areas of installation, operations, and maintenance.
The challenge is ultimately in aid of enabling ARENA to realise its Ultra Low-Cost Solar (ULCS) vision.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the large-scale deployment of solar is key to the clean energy transition and in achieving global decarbonisation.
“Ultra low-cost solar is critical for reducing electricity costs and decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as industry and transport,” said Miller.
“We are aiming to bring together leaders across Australia and the world to tackle the challenges presented in our quest for even cheaper renewable energy through this critical technology.”
The challenge is being delivered in collaboration with Greenhouse Tech’s innovative online platform.
Greenhouse Tech has run similar global challenges in the past, including the NetZero Steel Challenge.
“Teaming up with Greenhouse Tech, which has a track record in driving this kind of innovation in the emissions reduction space, allows us to bring in more expertise to achieve the objectives of the challenge,” said Miller.
ARENA brought together some of the most influential people in the solar space at its inaugural Solar Lab to define the long list of actions needed to unlock ULCS.
This included innovation in installation, operations, and maintenance of solar farms, as well as extensive collaboration across both supply and demand.
“Bringing together all the different stakeholders involved in solar projects is key to solving these problems in an innovative way and quickly scaling the solutions, so we thought this topic was ideal for a challenge,” said Chief Collaboration Officer at Greenhouse, Mark Rowland.
Huge cost reductions in solar PV have already been achieved, but more breakthroughs are needed.
There is now an opportunity to further reduce costs to drive greater adoption of solar PV and unlock significant scale.
ARENA is looking to reduce the installed cost of a solar project to just 30 cents per watt and reach a levelised cost of electricity below $20 per megawatt hour by 2030.
This could help unlock a total installed capacity of 1 terawatt by 2050.
ARENA is inviting innovators, customers, financiers, and anyone involved in the construction and operation of solar farms to participate in the challenge.
If you have ideas on how to contribute to reducing the cost of large-scale solar installation or operation and maintenance, then ARENA’s Solar ScaleUp Challenge might be for you.
ARENA is also administering the $1 billion Solar Sunshot Program, aimed at growing Australia’s domestic solar PV manufacturing capabilities and commercialising local solar PV innovation.