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The America-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory has released the findings of a study that assessed the technical potential for floating PV and underlined its co-benefits in environmental protection and food security.

An international research group has investigated the flow of iron, copper, aluminium, and other precious metals from source to end-use destination in the renewable energy infrastructure value chain. It found significant imbalances that can be attributed to the continuous outsourcing of metal demand for the renewable power sector to developing economies.

Solar levelized cost of electricity will reach less than $45 (USD 30) per MWh in 2050 as global capacity grows 22-fold, said DNV.

Huang Haiyan, chief sustainability officer for Astronergy, spoke with pv magazine at the recent SNEC trade show in Shanghai about the company’s new TOPCon PV module line and its broader expansion plans.

A sharp rise in connection and terminal station charges is stalling storage from coming online, according to an Australian developer. While the price hikes could be attributable to a quagmire of complications the industry currently faces, the developer questioned whether Australia’s TNSP monopoly system is a contributing factor.

Australian developer ACEnergy is building an initial portfolio of 10 neighbourhood batteries totalling 50 MW/100 MWh across Victoria and New South Wales. The company is also engaging networks to lobby for reforms to the connection process and tariff structure in light of grid support the technology can offer.

The global transition to carbon-free energy has fallen behind pace to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a key threshold set forth by the Paris Agreement.

George Hilton, research manager at S&P Global, spoke to pv magazine at the recent Intersolar 2023 trade show about the latest energy storage trends. He said the industry needs easy-to-install products and more efficient supply chains, and noted that battery prices are highly volatile because they fluctuate in response to changes in the dynamic Chinese electric vehicle market.

Over the next five to 15 years, batteries will undercut the business case for major transmission and interconnector projects. These assets will nonetheless likely be built, decreasing price spreads and eating into the revenues of batteries, solar and storage analyst Warwick Johnston predicts.

The Queensland government has unveiled its own Critical Mineral Strategy, with a decidedly more focussed policy approach than its recent federal counterpart.