Markets

The discussion about the extent to which forced labor exists in the solar value chain continues. A video, a university report, a ministerial response and a parliamentary machinations formed notable developments of the debate last week.

As Australia’s hydrogen hype is substantiated by a pipeline of real projects backed by real money, questions around how to design Australia’s ‘future fuel’ industry so it doesn’t become a fossil fuel lifeline grow increasingly urgent. Nicky Ison, WWF Australia’s Energy Transition Manager, shares the four focal points she believes are key to ensuring Australia’s hydrogen economy is cleanly built.

Murrumbidgee Shire in the New South Wales’ Riverina region is set for a big battery and big flexibility after Edify and Shell Energy came together on a deal that will see the realisation of the Riverina Energy Storage System.

China’s project development segment is dynamic, to say the least. Having undergone significant changes toward a “subsidy-free” footing, developers are now facing requirements to integrate storage, deploy hybrid arrays, and pursue self consumption through BIPV and agrivoltaics applications, writes Frank Haugwitz, the director of the Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory (AECEA).

For the first time in almost four decades a pumped hydro energy storage plant is set to begin construction with the financial close of Genex Power’s Kidston Clean Energy Hub.

Funded by a United States’ Department of Energy grant, the project will evaluate Malta Inc.’s thermal energy storage system as a viable, scalable solution.

According to the International Energy Agency, most of the global reductions in CO2 emissions between now and 2030 would come from technologies available today. In a recent report, the agency sets what it described as a “cost-effective and economically productive” pathway resulting in an energy economy “dominated by renewables like solar and wind.”

Evidence of Australia’s energy transition and the force with which renewables are pushing fossil fuel generators out of the mix are now glaring, with a raft of new reports highlighting different records and trends testament to the seismic shift.

In an interview with pv magazine, Indra Overland, the head of the Centre for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, explains how long-distance electricity and hydrogen transport differs from that of fossil fuels. He says strong Europe-North Africa connections could prove the viability of cables to connect continents, and notes that integration between countries and regions will increase.

Poor and piecemeal implementation of net metering policies is a major roadblock for the uptake of rooftop solar system in India, according to a new report by Asian Development Bank.