China, Australia bask in solar panel success

Countries like China have similarly reduced fossil fuels' share of electricity generation significantly, helping push against climate change inaction, he said.

The major two-day event covering fields ranging from solar and storage to transport and technology drew about 10,000 attendees, 120 main exhibitors and industry leader conferences covering the latest energy trends.

In a keynote speech at the conference, mining giant Fortescue's chairman, Andrew Forrest, called for more to be done to adopt green technologies and electrification in a pillar sector still heavily reliant on diesel.

With most of Australia's diesel imported, prices could go up significantly amid the supply risks from shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East, he said.

"So, for diesel, it's all bad news," Forrest said.

As part of its move away from fossil fuel dependence, Fortescue announced in April the acceleration of an integrated green energy grid rollout, including 1.2GW of solar capacity at the Pilbara area in Western Australia.

At a conference session on the importance of the Australia-China smart energy partnership, John Grimes, chief executive of Australia's Smart Energy Council, said the solar and other advanced technologies developed by the Sino-Australian cooperation mark a deep relationship. The council is a nonprofit with more than 1,000 members.

"What I see in China … the engineers, the investors, the Australian connection is so strong. There is a massive opportunity for us to build on those firm and long-standing foundations," said Grimes, adding that "every solar panel makes a difference" in the global energy crisis.

"We're working with Chinese industry to take the world's lowest-cost, best technology and accelerate that … throughout the Asia-Pacific region."

Tim Buckley, founder and director of Climate Energy Finance, a think tank focusing on Australia's green transition, told China Daily that it is "critical we work with China and learn from the best technology in the world".

"I'm amazed by the robotic advances," he said. "Australia worries about our high cost of labor, you don't have that problem in China because you're building the world's best robots, which means we can learn from China about robotics, engineering and supply chains, and partner together," he said.

"The more you build wind, solar, batteries and hydroelectricity toward energy efficiency, the less addicted to imported fossil fuels your country is. That's a really important lesson for us."