Installations

REN21 today published its Renewables 2021 Global Status Report, finding the share of fossil fuels in the global energy mix remains virtually unchanged from a decade ago, even as renewables are installed at record pace.

US expert in environmental and energy policy Alexis Pascaris spoke with pv magazine about opportunities and barriers associated with agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics are a very practical and advantageous alternative to large-scale solar, specifically in places where there are land-use constraints or needs for rural economic development, she explains. Differences in costs related to ground-mounted solar can typically be attributed to the raised racking systems or additional fencing, but these upfront investments in specialised hardware are eventually recovered as agrivoltaic systems produce dual-revenue streams.

According to a new study from LUT University, domestic water heating costs may be reduced by combining rooftop PV with geothermal heat pumps. Scientists developed a control method to minimise these costs by taking advantage of cheap spot market electricity and maximised PV power generation, as well as considering heat demand, PV generation forecasts, and heat pump efficiency.

Have you heard about the proposed “solar tax”? Haha! But seriously, there’s more to it than meets the eye. A multitude of perspectives and considerations are brought to light in the submissions made to the AEMC. We take a shallow dive … and recommend total immersion.

There’s nothing simple about the Australian electricity system in transition. The constantly shifting landscape requires continuous regulatory adjustment to old coal-fired settings. That, too is fraught. One network services provider gives their perspective on the rule change currently under consideration.

Japan’s biggest oil refiner Eneos and Tokyo-based trading house Sojitz have entered the large-scale solar sector in Australia, announcing they will build a 204 MW solar farm in Queensland.

The smallest of the storage units has a capacity of 4.8 kWh and an output of 1.5 kW. It can be expanded to eight battery modules in steps of 2.4 kWh and has a maximum of 57.6 kWh, and 6 kW, of power.

The Queensland government has underscored its commitment to a clean energy future, announcing a $2 billion fund to be used to finance new renewable energy and storage projects, hydrogen production and clean energy resources projects.

Italian energy giant Enel will implement an experimental agrisolar program at its 34 MW Cohuna Solar Farm in Victoria with data from the research project to be used to help formulate a “best practice” template for utility scale solar PV sites in other countries.

Governments and car manufacturers are investing hundreds of billions of dollars on electric vehicles. But while the electric transport revolution is inevitable, the final destination remains unknown.