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First came craft beer and distributed brewing. Consumers developed a taste for local niche brews, and the number of small breweries in Australia exploded, stealing market share from industry giants.

Now comes solar power and distributed energy, with craft brewers across Australia looking to source their own home-grown electricity in place of grid offerings.

The cost of rooftop solar installations has been steadily falling in recent years, as the technology matures and the production of panels, led by China, expands rapidly.

Globally, solar is now the largest source of newly installed power generation as of 2016. So, what does this mean for Australian manufacturing businesses?

Large-scale solar generation currently costs around $60-70/MWh to produce, with prices predicted to fall to around $50-$55/MWh in the next few years.

In comparison, retail electricity charges are around $200 – $300/MWh, with most contracts towards the higher end of this range.

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Packaging News

Earlier this month PKN published an article that voiced industry concern over the speculation that Qenos might be closing its polymer manufacturing plants in Australia. Qenos has remained silent on the matter. The MD of Qenos customer Impact International, Aleks Lajovic, wants some answers.

Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, is the proud recipient of eight FPA Awards for innovative and sustainable contributions to the industry.

An impressive number of quality entries into the inaugural Hive Awards created a highly competitive line-up for judges to consider. The packaging category was one of the most strongly contested.