Highlights

EODev will start delivering hydrogen generators by the end of 2024 to countries in the US, Europe, Australia and the Middle East, with a focus on regions with public incentive policies. German companies, meanwhile, have agreed to convert a gas pipeline network into a hydrogen pipeline network.

A solar-powered electric vehicle, designed and built by students of the University of New South Wales (UNSW), has claimed a provisional Guinness World Record by going 1,000 kilometres on a single charge. The researchers managed the feat in under 12 hours.

Chinese-Canadian PV manufacturing heavyweight Canadian Solar said it will begin mass production of 690 W TOPCon products in the first quarter of 2023. The modules will feature a cell efficiency of 25.0% and a bifaciality factor of more than 85%.

ANU’s Dr Bjorn Sturmberg has launched his book Amy’s Balancing Act, a fable about Australia’s energy transition. While, of course, for kids, Dr Sturmberg’s book gestures towards fundamental questions for the industry itself. The energy transition is not just a technological shift, he tells pv magazine Australia, but systematic and emotional one – facets often overlooked within the industry.

A free version of SunSPOT, a tool for tailored guidance on the ideal solar and battery set ups, has now been launched. Developed by APVI and UNSW, the online tool allows users to calculate size, cost and potential savings from household renewable systems and is the only such platform offering this information without a sales motive.

Cofounder of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, David Scaysbrook, says the US Inflation Reduction Act can make Australia a green energy superpower – but not in the way we expect. The policy will fundamentally undercut Australia’s competitiveness exporting green hydrogen, but offers giant opportunities for critical materials. Scaysbrook also expects Australia’s 2023 to be lean in terms of renewable investment, especially when it comes to “vanilla” projects.

Germany has decided to build its first green ammonia import terminal in Hamburg, in collaboration with Air Products. Egypt, meanwhile, has signed $128 billion of hydrogen framework agreements.

The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power System Programme has standardised guidelines for operation and maintenance programs for large-scale solar plants. It defines O&M performance indicators and standard O&M operator services, as well as tools to analyse PV plant performance and safety.

The New South Wales government has formally declared the state’s third Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). The South West REZ, as its called, is centred around the towns of Hay and Balranald in the state’s western Riverina region, with initial expressions of interest in the zone attracting up to 34 GW of generation proposals – more than 13 times the intended capacity of 2.5 GW.

Western Australia’s largest virtual power plant, the government-support Project Symphony, is live. The project is particularly noteworthy for its introduction of new markets to reward different services and its use of Dynamic Operating Envelopes.