Technology

Chinese solar manufacturer Aiko has introduced an ultra-lightweight 8.8kg module to the Australian market. Aiko has swapped solar glass for high chemical plastic, affording the 450W ‘Air Series’ module its light weight.

Chinese solar manufacturer Longi has launched a new ‘anti-dust’ module. The feature rests on its design where the frame sit flush with the glass on the short side, allowing water to wash off unimpeded.

Printed flexible solar cell technology developed by Australia’s national science agency has been successfully launched into space as part of billionaire Elon Musk’s Space X’s Transporter-10 mission.

The developers of a proposed a “clean energy corridor” in Queensland’s central west that promises 4.2 GW of solar, grid-scale battery storage and a high-voltage transmission line are calling on landholders in the region to now register their interest in hosting renewable energy projects.

Leapton says its new panels have a temperature coefficient of -0.30% per C and an efficiency of up to 22.65%. They come with a 30-year power output guarantee for 87.4% of the initial yield.

The Queensland government has announced plans to deliver the key infrastructure and support microgrid feasibility studies in five remote townships as it seeks to promote energy sovereignty for communities on the edge of the electricity grid.

The International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV) helps to predict future solar cell and module technology trends and is influential in directing research funding and technology investment. Scientists in Australia and the United Kingdom have analyzed ITRPV predictions over the past decade, highlighting the difficulties of forecasting PV trends.

South Australian energy infrastructure company Epic Energy has secured a connection agreement for a 100 MW / 200 MWh battery energy storage system that is to be installed alongside the company’s two solar farms at Mannum in the state’s Riverland region.

Researchers from Western Australia’s Curtin University and Chinese module manufacturer Longi were part of an international team seeking silicon material savings and efficiency gains in the development of heterojunction PV devices. The cell achieved a certified power conversion efficiency of 26.06% with a thickness of 57 μm, with Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research confirming the result.

Origin Energy has issued a notice to proceed to EPC contractor Fluence for its 300 MW / 650 MWh battery energy storage project planned for Mortlake in southwest Victoria, progressing the company’s goal to build its renewables and storage portfolio to 4 GW by 2030.