Research

The first stage of Acen Australia’s planned 720 MW New England Solar Farm is home to more than 6,000 sheep that are grazing beneath the panels in a proof-of-concept agrivoltaics project that has no-one sitting on the fence regarding the results.

The Chinese manufacturer said Germany’s TÜV SUD has confirmed the results.

Australian National University researchers will put their heads together with Queensland tech company CQSola to find ways to accelerate commercialisation of a direct solar-to-hydrogen system as part of a newly funded project.

A report commissioned by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has found that if 10% of the nation’s vehicles are electric and utilise vehicle-to-grid connections, they could reduce peak electricity demand at local substations by 6% and save car owners hundreds of dollars per year on charging costs.

Researchers in India have simulated a 4 kW solar power-based hybrid electric vehicle charging station using a three-stage charging strategy and found that the station is capable of charging 10–12 EVs with 48 V 30 Ah lithium-ion batteries.

The Queensland government has committed $2.5 million to progress the development of an “Australian first” solar panel recycling scheme in preparation for the “thousands” of PV panels installed on rooftops and across large-scale solar farms in the state that are approaching end of life.

Australia has firmly established its status as a global leader in residential solar deployment with 35% of all houses having already installed rooftop systems but new data reveals there is almost 50 GW of “untapped PV potential” on residential buildings across the country.

Building a domestic solar panel manufacturing industry based on Australian innovation could generate up to 60,000 jobs and help cement the nation’s future as a renewable energy superpower but access to capital and focused policies are essential if manufacturers are to reach scale where they can be cost competitive internationally.

Queensland aluminium materials manufacturer Alpha HPA says it is on the brink of transforming lithium-ion battery safety, declaring its high-purity aluminium nitrate is capable of providing a solution to lithium-ion battery fires.

A team of scientists in Australia claim to have achieved the highest efficiency reported to date for a perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cell built on a flexible steel substrate. In the proposed cell configuration, steel can act as both a substrate and an electrode.