Technology

A new study from Clean Energy Associates (CEA) shows that 83% of sites tested as part of a global survey had line cracks, 78% had a soldering anomaly and 76% had complex cracks. The survey involved visual inspections combined with electroluminescence testing across 148 sites in 16 countries.

Sandia National Laboratories and CSolPower have started researching the use of landscaping gravel as a thermal energy storage medium.

LAVO, which entered the market with its hydrogen battery in 2021, has soft launched a new Energy-as-a-Service model. Partnering with Yingli Solar, LAVO says it can install and maintain solar, battery and EV charging systems at no upfront cost to Australian households, who will then pay off the systems via a 10-year subscription.

Renewable energy investor and developer Quinbrook has launched software to allow customers to trace both the source and carbon-intensity of their electricity in real-time. The energy-tracing platform comes at an important moment, just as Australia’s government is deciding whether to include time-stamped and granular source information in its formal certificate schemes.

Ground-mounted PV is increasingly being investigated not only as a renewable generator, but as shelter for crops and creatures under fire from climate change. Last week’s All Energy conference handed the mike to some pioneers in the field.

Transformer shortages are taking their toll on battery energy storage system (BESS) integrators, as competition in the market intensifies.

The Queensland government has announced $1.3 billion (USD 820 million) package to fund the next stages of its major transmission CopperString 2032 project, targeting construction in mid-2024. The transmission line will connect the critical minerals-rich region of North Queensland to renewable energy projects to hopefully kickstart green processing and manufacturing.

JinkoSolar claims that its new 182 mm n-type monocrystalline silicon solar cell has reached a maximum solar conversion efficiency of 26.89%. It says the achievement has been independently verified by a third party.

Drone-mounted imaging of solar farm performance at the rate of one panel per second reduces the cost of current ground-based sampling methods by up to 20 times. Read how a new strategic Australia-Singapore partnership is helping to ensure the output of PV assets is always at peak!

Australian hydrogen technology company Star Scientific has inked an agreement to establish a joint research and manufacturing facility in the United States as it seeks to expand the market for its heat reaction technology that utilises renewable hydrogen to rapidly create heat for industrial applications.