On November 17, at the 2025 8th China International PV and Energy Storage Industry Conference held in Chengdu, Martin Green, renowned as the "Father of Photovoltaics" and a professor at the University of New South Wales, Australia, delivered a forward-looking presentation on the future path of the PV industry, using Australia"s energy practices as a case study. He stated that while China leads the world in total installed PV capacity, it can still draw crucial lessons from other countries regarding the share of PV in its energy mix and the coordinated management at the consumer end.

Martin Green revealed that solar energy currently accounts for 20% of Australia"s national electricity, with this high proportion primarily coming from household rooftop PV systems rather than centralized power stations. This highly decentralized energy structure has led Australia to face the challenges of high PV penetration earlier than many countries, particularly the issue of spatiotemporal matching between power generation and electricity consumption.

"In Australia, households are becoming the core players in energy management," Green said. "A growing number of households not only generate their own power but also proactively adjust their electricity usage patterns through lithium battery storage systems and energy management apps. For instance, they activate loads like washing machines and charging piles during the daytime peak PV generation hours, achieving self-cycle optimization of "generation-storage-consumption"."

In response to the intermittency of solar power, Australia is actively deploying lithium-iron battery storage and pumped hydro as near-term solutions, while exploring hydrogen energy as a long-term strategic reserve. However, Green particularly emphasized that physical storage alone cannot solve all problems; it is essential to guide load shifting through market mechanisms and digital technologies.

He also shared that the Australian government is promoting a "Free Lunchtime Power" initiative, using price signals to incentivize users to shift their electricity demand from the evening peak to the midday solar peak. "This is a very innovative attempt," Green commented. "The future grid is not a "one-way transmission system," but rather a "two-way interactive network.""

Although China ranks first globally in PV manufacturing and installed capacity, the proportion of solar power in its national energy mix remains lower than in Australia. Martin Green"s perspective indirectly echoes the call for "anti-overcapacity and enhanced synergy" found in the "Chengdu Declaration" released on the 18th. He believes that for China to achieve "high-quality global expansion" and "sustainable development," it cannot focus solely on cost reduction and efficiency improvement in manufacturing. It must also promote consumer-side participation, improve market mechanisms, and strengthen digitalized dispatch.

Green concluded, "When photovoltaics becomes a mainstay energy source, what we need is not just more batteries, but smarter consumption methods, more flexible grid systems, and every household and every enterprise becoming a "co-builder" of the energy system." (Text and Images by Huang Shengjun)