Technology

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s final marginal loss factor report for 2020-21 provides some good news for operational large-scale solar projects delivering only smaller changes compared to those seen in preceding years. However, the reduced need for MLF adjustments came as a result of a slowdown in new project development and additional network constraints.

The Western Australian State Parliament has passed an electricity reform bill that will see a new regulatory framework for the Pilbara and support stand-alone power and storage systems – already being rolled out by both Western Power and regional utility Horizon Power.

An Italian consortium has developed a panel recycling process it claims can recover up to 99% of raw materials. The developers claim their technique takes only 40 seconds to fully recycle a standard panel, depending on size and recycling site conditions.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing nearly one million dollars for a study that will analyze the benefits that pumped hydro energy storage would have on the development of the New England Renewable Energy Zone in northern New South Wales.

Short- and long-term impacts of the pandemic on electricity markets are still unclear.

Western Australian peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading pioneer Power Ledger has revealed the world’s biggest ‘choose your own energy source’ project in France.

France’s Sunbooster has developed a technology to cool down solar modules when their ambient temperature exceeds 25 C. The solution features a set of pipes that spread a thin film of water onto the glass surface of the panels in rooftop PV systems and ground-mounted plants. The cooling systems collect the water from rainwater tanks and then recycle, filter and store it again. The company claims the technology can facilitate an annual increase in power generation of between 8% and 12%.

The developer has secured a $20 million loan from Squadron Energy and Federation Asset Management, as it continues to struggle with connection delays on its Kennedy solar-wind-battery park.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has published its first knowledge sharing report under its landmark virtual power plant (VPP) demonstrations program, which is intended to provide insights into the scalability and network services potential of VPPs. The report details how the South Australia-based Tesla-Energy Locals VPP responded to price signals and frequency level and helps further understand the benefits consumers can have from participating in VPPs.

Researchers in Brazil have suggested using solar radiation databases and simulator software to scale PV-diesel mini-grid generators. The profiles of PV generation and mini-grid load demand are critical to finding the right balance, according to the academics.