ARENA opens AUS$100 million ‘Solar ScaleUp Challenge’

June 19, 2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The initiative will complement the Australian government's 'Solar Sunshot Program'. Image: ARENA.
The initiative will complement the Australian government’s ‘Solar Sunshot Program’. Image: ARENA.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) launched its global AUS$100 million (US$66 million) ‘Solar ScaleUp Challenge’ today (19 June), to stimulate innovation and collaboration in the solar sector.

The initiative invites professionals from across the international solar landscape, such as financiers, solar customers, engineers, and developers, to break down barriers to installing, operating, and maintaining solar PV projects.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

This will also enable ARENA to work towards the vision of its Ultra Low-Cost Solar (ULCS), which argues that a ‘30-30-30’ approach to solar, representing 30% solar module efficiency and an installed cost of 30 cents per watt by 2030, could help Australia become a renewable energy superpower. This would mean achieving a levelised cost of electricity below AUS$20 per megawatt hour by 2030.

Ultra-low-cost solar will be needed to significantly reduce the cost of renewable electricity for heavy industrial processes, including enabling the production of green hydrogen below AU$2 per kilogram – a technology that could form a core pillar of the global energy transition.

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,” Miller said.

“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.”

ARENA continues to administer the AUS$1 billion ‘Solar Sunshot Program’

In March 2024, the Australian government launched the Solar Sunshot Program, aiming to support the Australian solar module manufacturing industry, an initiative ARENA continues to administer.

Sunshot primarily focuses on how components are made, whereas the newly launched Challenge focuses on deployment. As such, the two initiatives aim to bolster Australia’s efforts to become a hub for solar innovation and development.

ARENA stated that the Solar ScaleUp Challenge is open for eight weeks and is expected to complement the Solar Sunshot program by building a pipeline of solar PV innovation that manufacturers and project developers can adopt along the supply chain.

Read Next

October 27, 2025
Chinese engineering firm Shanghai Electric has signed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with independent power producer (IPP) Econergy to build a 342MW solar PV plant in Romania.
October 27, 2025
Engie has signed additional PPAs with Meta, expanding their partnership to more than 1.3GW across four solar projects in Texas.
October 27, 2025
Waaree Energies has secured four solar module supply contracts totalling 692MW – three for projects in India and one in the US through its subsidiary.
October 27, 2025
Premier Energies has acquired a 51% stake each in transformer maker Transcon and inverter producer KSolare Energy. 
October 27, 2025
US solar technology company Swift Solar has deployed perovskite solar technology as part of a Department of Defence cyber warfare exercise in the state of Virginia.
October 27, 2025
Australian solar developer, BNRG Leeson, has submitted plans for a 440MW solar PV facility in Victoria's Campaspe Shire to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Lisbon, Portugal