For BP Solar, ATRAA is the one event each year where installers and business – sometimes from very remote locations – can get together to learn about new products and techniques, share stories and experiences, and have a good laugh with like-minded people.

“For small-business people working often six to seven days a week, this is vital,” says BP Solar Large Commercial Projects Manager for Australasia Tony Stocken.

BP Solar recently commissioned the installation of a 110 kilowatt (kW) commercial solar PV system in New South Wales. The system was installed through the Blacktown Solar City project and features 670 solar panels. It will be officially launched later in the year. The company is also currently working on a local extension of its Certified Installer Program already in place in Europe, which it expects to introduce to the market in July.

At Conergy, the ATRAA event is seen as an opportunity to learn from the brightest and best minds in the industry.

“As it is affectionately called ‘Suits and Boots’, the event delivers new technologies and establishes the benchmark for industry standards. The overarching responsibility to the Clean Energy Council is to lead our industry into the future and embark on new territories by engaging with government at all levels to ensure the industry as a whole is heard and listened to,” says General Manager David McCallum.

This year has been a busy one for wind installations for the company, with the introduction of the Proven Energy wind turbines to the market and six installations in April. For a more detailed account of these projects click here.

When asked what else the company has in store for 2009, Conergy told us that new products such as new solar modules and inverters would be on display to see and touch at ATRAA.

“We can’t say too much right now, you will have to visit us at ATRAA and see and for yourself.”

Conergy will also soon be launching the TS Plus, a stainless steel thermosiphon system for solar hot water installations.

Never one to do things by halves, SunPower Corporation will follow the success of its 305 kW Crowne Plaza Hotel solar installation in Alice Springs – the largest rooftop commercial system in the Southern Hemisphere to date – with a 505 kW solar power installation in Western Australia, set to be Australia’s largest ground mounted tracking system. Commissioned by Horizon Power, the system will generate over 1 gigawatt hours of renewable energy per annum and will supply up to 60 per cent of the daytime energy demand for Marble Bar and Nullagine, in the east Pilbara region of WA, see the detailed project article online here.

The company will also be launching the 300 watt solar panel to the Australian residential and commercial market in 2009, along with a number of other solar PV products towards the end of 2009.

As SunPower expands their technology in Australia, the company looks forward to a productive time at ATRAA 09.

“Australia is undergoing a phenomenal change and it is great to be able to be in a forum where all the movers and shakers of the industry can get together, network and discuss the future directions,” says SunPower Managing Director Bob Blakiston.

SCHOTT Australia Solar Marketing and Sales Manager Gonzalo Muslera sees ATRAA as a vital tool in creating transparency in the industry in a period of such rapid change.

“The solar PV industry in Australia has been experiencing massive expansion over the last 12 to 18 months. We’ve seen existing business and new entrants all work hard to consolidate and define their position in a very dynamic and rapidly changing market.”

This year, SCHOTT introduced its new SCHOTT Poly 2/x range of multi-crystalline modules – power classes of Poly 202, 210, 217 and 225, as well as seeing its first orders of SCHOTT ASI 86 Wp, 90 and 95 Wp amorphous modules come into Australia.

SCHOTT also hopes to play a part in the large-scale solar power projects announced by the Federal Government in its 2009-10 budget.

“Of the various solar thermal plant technologies, only parabolic trough technology has achieved market maturity. When we talk of large energy requirements of 50 – 250 MW power systems, parabolic trough technology is completely ready to use. It is mature and, compared to other forms of solar thermal power plant technologies, has a head start in development of at least 25 years.

SCHOTT Australia was recently involved in the largest school solar installation in Australia. For details of this project click here

For battery storage supplier Exide Technologies, ATRAA is important not only because it is a forum to exchange views on recent industry developments, but also because industry and policy makers converge and set the clean energy agenda for next 1-3 years.

Exide recently supplied its valve regulated range to a large telephone company in the Pacific region to convert 160 of its sites from diesel power to a hybrid of diesel and battery power, thus helping the company reduce its fuel bills by about 40 per cent.

“We are in the energy storage business. Larger capacity batteries tend to last longer, due to lower depths of discharge, and thus help in reduction of pollution in the long term. In this context, we are constantly upgrading our range and the latest addition to our range of Solar range - 4RP2200N (a 4V2200Ah battery) which is one of the largest in its class,” says Exide Sales and Technical Director Bharadwaj Srinivas.

For Exide Technologies, continued support from the Federal Government for the clean energy industry is vital until price parity is reached with conventional energy sources such as coal and gas.

“Every year ATRAA gives installers and suppliers a great opportunity to get together in the one forum and bring each other up to speed on the issues facing the industry from their perspectives. By sharing our actual experiences in the field, we can gauge much more accurately how our industry is really going,” says Solagift Technologies Director Bill Brazier.

Solagift has been busy installing a number of 1 kW grid-connected systems in South East Queensland, as the excitement of the state’s net feed-in tariff (FIT) spreads.

“No doubt our colleagues from other states also obtaining the benefit of the FiT will have experienced something similar. It seems to be working to advertise our business, and many potential clients seem to be ringing Solagift and telling us that they were referred by someone who was pretty excited to be getting credits on their power bills.”

On policy, Mr Brazier looks forward to the necessary workforce shift from traditional fossil-based generation technologies to the renewable industry, and the surge in job creation that is expected to follow.

Mark Lydiard, National Manager of Sustainability at Dux Hot Water, says that the dynamic environment at ATRAA not only facilitates the sharing of information but can also generate new ideas and partnerships.

Dux Hot Water’s Airoheat® pump hot water system is highly efficient and so does not require an energy intensive back-up element. What’s more, its compact design means that it does not need solar collectors and so does not compete for roof space with a PV array.

On policy issues, Mr Lydiard highlights the importance of clear, well informed legislation.

“Sustainability policy is complex and effects industry stakeholders in so many ways. As an Australian-owned national manufacturer, we are looking for timely information and a consistent, considered national approach across all states. Policy on the run is not good policy. Dux are always keen to participate in consultation that seeks to develop long term outcomes for our industry.”

“ATRAA is arguably the best and most inclusive clean energy industry event in the Asia Pacific region. I find it an excellent forum for connecting with customers and suppliers, meeting new participants in the market, and seeing more of what our competitors have been up to,” says Powersmart Director Mike Bassett-Smith.

Powersmart’s newest product is the Evergreen ESA line of solar modules, manufactured using an improved version of Evergreen’s patented StringRibbon™ process. The company is also working to improve the application flexibility and installation efficiency of its solar mounting frames, which are produced in New Zealand using hydro electric power.

For details of one of Powersmart’s recent stand-alone power system installations in coastal Tasmania click here.

In terms of governance, harmonising existing policy and legislative tools intended to stimulate the clean energy industry is the most important policy issue for the company.

“The very nature of policy supporting industry development should be intended to reduce the risk of disruptive change and enhance the ability of firms to plan and grow. Current clean energy policy in Australia is highly fragmented and presents companies in the industry with a fair amount of uncertainty and risk. In New Zealand the case is the opposite, where government policy towards distributed clean energy is absolutely non-existent. A meeting in the middle where policy is harmonised and enacted such that companies can count on the terms and duration of incentives and legislation is much needed.”

“ATRAA is arguably the best and most inclusive clean energy industry event in the Asia Pacific region.” - Powersmart Director Mike Bassett-Smith

The networking opportunities at ATRAA 09, along with the scope to discuss industry standards, are some of the key drawcards for wholesaler SolarMatrix.

A wholesaler of solar products, the company supplies European solar products to the Australian market, including inverters, solar panels, mounting frames and data logging equipment, with an emphasis on maintaining high environmental and sustainability standards.

SMA Australia considers that ATRAA shows the strength of the PV industry, while also being a gauge of current business levels and a voice for the clean energy industry.

“The company will head to Canberra as its newest inverter products are setting efficiency standards by operating at 98 per cent efficiency, while maintaining high quality and reliability standards for the solar industry,” says SMA Australia Director Zygmunt Nejman.

The company’s products were used for the Crowne Plaza solar installation project in Alice Springs, and its Sunny Boy inverters continue to be the standard for government supported consumer PV installations around the country.

According to Phoenix Solar Managing Director Christian Bindel, while it is important for the renewable energy sector to speak with one united voice as provided by the Clean Energy Council, every sector of renewable technology faces specific challenges and issues, and ATRAA is ‘the’ platform to do so.

As well as its involvement at the Alice Springs Desert Knowledge precinct, which is featured in detail here, Phoenix Solar has introduced the Solyndra panel to the market. Weighing 16 kilograms per square metre on the roof – compared to up to 100 kg per square metre for conventional flat panels systems – the system is particularly well-suited to meet industrial and commercial static loading limits. Each lightweight panel is made of 40 cylindrical tubes attached to a 108 cm by 182 cm frame. Within each cylindrical tube, over 140 interconnected cylindrical CIGS cells capture direct sunlight, diffuse sunlight, and sunlight reflected from the rooftop, enabling maximum use of light and greater effectiveness.

For Stiebel Eltron, who will be attending ATRAA for the first time this year, the most important policy issue is for solar water heaters and heat pumps to stay in Mandatory Renewable Energy Target and the Renewable Energy Target, as this provides assurance to the government, industry and the end-user that these are quality products that provide substantial energy savings.

“What truly needs to be addressed is harmonisation between the Federal Government and all states on hot water policy, to encourage investment that will allow for research and development, and so that manufacturers continue to produce products for the long term,” says the company’s manager of renewables Glenn Day.

Looking forward to meeting with other industry players at ATRAA 09, Enerdrive has launched a new range of grid tie inverters, including the Xantrex 2.8 kW and 5.0 kW range. In April this year, the company also changed its name from Advance Trident to Enerdrive, reflecting a focus toward the independent and renewable energy power markets. Excited with its progress to date, Enerdrive looks forward to many more years of supporting the local solar industry.

Director Chris McClellan says that improving the realistic and long term sustainability of the solar industry, both in off-grid and grid-connected systems is, the most important policy issue today.

“This must be done so that solar energy is affordable to the residential markets, with incentives such as FiTs as the most feasible option.”