In travel commercials, Australia touts its sunny days, bronzed citizens, and its endless beaches, showing that the island continent is an ideal location for solar power.

Indeed, parts of Australia get an average of 6.75 kilowatt hours per meter squared of direct sunlight a day, more than the southwestern United States, according to Global Green USA’s “2009 Global Solar Report Cards.” Yet the country is far behind other nations like Germany (currently the world leader), Spain, Italy, and even the United States in terms of installed photovoltaic (PV) power. That is starting to change. For instance, SunPower Corp. reported on Aug. 4 that it completed work on Australia’s largest photovoltaic installation to date.

According to SunPower, a United States-based PV manufacturer, it recently completed work on a 505 kilowatt PV tracking system for government-owned utility Horizon Power, which provides power to western Australia’s remote and regional communities. The project was implemented by the Office of Energy in Western Australia and supported by the Australian Government’s Renewable Remote Power Generation Program.

According to the company, the T20 Tracker increases its PV modules’ sunlight capture 30 percent by following the sun's movement during the day. The trackers also significantly reduce the system’s land use requirements.

SunPower said it completed the project by installing its T20 Tracker at two sites, Marble Bar and Nullagine in the east Pilbara region of Western Australia. The company added that it is the “largest solar tracking system in Australia, and powers the world's first high penetration, hybrid solar-diesel power stations.” The systems are expected to generate roughly 1,048 megawatt hours of PV power annually and produce 60 percent to 90 percent of the region’s daily electricity needs.

While this is an improvement for Australia, the country still has a long way to go in terms of implementing PV power. The global scorecard gave the country a C- grade for 2009.

Looking forward, the report said Australia needs to develop a long-term strategy that includes a gross feed-in tariff and a solar-power carve out to help promote solar markets and increase adoption of renewables throughout the country.