As one of the hubs of the surging Australian solar energy industry, Canberra was a fitting locale for the Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) Conference. The city has one of the nation’s most generous feed-in tariff schemes and averages more sunshine per day than its northern neighbours, including Sydney and Brisbane.

The conference, which was attended by over 300 people, featured a mixture of both academic and industry-focused sessions.

Conference highlights

Notable plenary speakers included the United States Ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich, Australian Capital Territory Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water Simon Corbell, and Deputy Leader of the Greens Senator Christine Milne. Ms Milne was particularly inspiring with her powerful and dynamic speech, outlining the vital role that the solar energy industry will play in Australia’s future environmental policy and its focus on renewable energy.

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On a similar level, United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory Executive Director Lawrence Kazmerski proved himself to be a highlight of the plenary sessions; his colourful speech, peppered with interesting historical solar energy tokens and facts and engaging slideshow kept the audience refreshed and entertained.

The Solar Flagship Program was also a strong focus of the Conference, with the Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Acting First Assistant Secretary Jenny Wilkinson, Australian Solar Institute Executive Director Mark Twidell and Australian Centre for Renewable Energy Deputy Chief Executive Sarah Clough all presenting their views on the successes, failures, and future of the program.

Technical papers

The technical sessions gathered an abundance of industry experts and academics, with over 120 research papers presented over the course of the conference. Topics included photovoltaics (PV), solar thermal, solar chemistry, solar radiation data, sustainable buildings, hydrogen systems, thermoelectric cells, wind, and energy efficiency.

Engaging the industry

A panel discussion entitled What Solar Needs from Government included perspectives from Clean Energy Services Director Wayne Smith, Beyond Zero Emissions’ Matthew Wright, and Australian Capital Territory Government speaker Shane Rattenbury MLA, and was chaired by AuSES CEO John Grimes.

Attendees of the conference were able to take personal tours of the University’s specialised solar research laboratories and the biggest high-temperature solar dish in the world, as well as gain an in-depth knowledge of the research and development currently being undertaken by the University.

A pre-Conference workshop was also available to attendees, with a focus on sustainable Australian communities, buildings and schools.

The Conference Dinner was held on Capital Hill in the Great Hall of Parliament House. The guest speaker, former President of the International Solar Energy Society and founder of Ausra (now Areva) Dr David Mills provided a comprehensive overview of the solar PV industry’s future, both for Australia and on an international level.

Additional events of the Conference were the Australian Photovoltaic Association AGM, the AuSES AGM, and the AuSES Initial Board Meeting.

The overall message promoted by the conference’s local and international speakers was incredibly positive, particularly with regard to the solar PV retail industry, yet the need for political and regulatory action within Australia was re-iterated as still being a major barrier.