Technology

Researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) will look to “set the pace” with the development of next-generation solar cell technology after receiving a $4.5 million funding boost.

Dutch company Rads Global Business has developed an anti-soiling coating for solar PV modules that is claimed to reduce cleaning cost by around 60%. The anti-reflective and anti-corrosive coating is also said to mitigate potential-induced degradation (PID).

Switzerland’s Smartvolt has developed a special mounting system that facilitates the quick deployment of small ground-mounted PV systems at the base of ​​wind turbines.

A Western Australia app which allows schools, households and, from February, businesses to track and improve their carbon footprint is gaining both attention and prominent partners. The company’s founder and CEO, Vanessa Rauland, spoke to pv magazine about its rise.

The use of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells as backup power generation in solar microgrids could drive down costs and improve efficiency, according to an international group of researchers. They have proposed a new energy management system that could be ideal for hybrid solar-hydrogen microgrids in remote locations.

SMA Australia had a bumper year in 2020, despite increasing competition and Covid-19, and partly because of the West Murray crisis. What’s next?

A collaboration between the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the UNSW has yielded a new efficiency record of 32.9% for a tandem cell device utilizing III-V materials. Key to the achievement was a new technique enabling the researchers to take advantage of “quantum wells” in the material that serve to trap charges and enable tuning of the cell bandgap to absorb more of the light spectrum.

Australian scientists have developed an algorithm to increase both the efficiency and compatibility of light sensitisers in solar panels, encompassing silicon cells for the first time.

Soon 2020 will only be a worry to future high-school history students. But when they ask us if anything good at all happened in 2020, remember this review and tell them that solar PV shone in the darkness. Despite the mess of it all, 2020 has been another good year for Australian solar. The industry has demonstrated resilience, and significant progress has been made in the fields of energy storage, green hydrogen and others.

Powertracer is a new Australian-developed data platform that accounts for the origins of each retail customer’s energy in half-hour blocks. The effect is to open up new models of choosing and offering renewably sourced energy, and accelerate demand.