Australia unveils roadmap for domestic solar manufacturing

It will place priority on polysilicon production and manufacturing of solar cells and modules.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) outlined an industry roadmap for the expansion of domestic solar PV manufacturing with a robust supply chain from raw material processing to module manufacturing.

The roadmap assesses four key areas in the supply chain, from polysilicon production through the production of ingots and wafers to the manufacturing of solar cells and modules.

It presents a prototypical framework for Australia to become a tangible market for solar manufacturing through techno-economic analysis for each stage in the solar PV supply chain. A firm focus is on manufacturing based on crystalline silicon solar cells, commercialisation of new solar technologies, solar PV research and development, and supply of low-cost solar PV modules.

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With the supply chain presenting notable challenges at every stage, the roadmap provides the capacity to execute successfully in each stage of the supply chain and leverage the competitive advantages of Australia in the market.

“Solar PV represents an enormous opportunity to apply our skills to a sector that will play a critical role in Australia’s clean energy economy. A number of Australian companies have already stated their ambitions to develop local manufacturing of solar PV at scale, and ‘Silicon to Solar’ illuminates the policy and investment pathway to make these bold plans a reality,” Darren Miller, CEO of ARENA, said.

Currently, Australia has been advancing its overall input of solar PV installations from the current levels of an estimated 5 gigawatts per annum as part of its net-zero ambitions and energy transformation.