Technology and R&D

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is allocating $460,500 in funding to investigate opportunities for using renewables in process heating in manufacturing.

MIT scientists claim to have created a material 10 times more black than anything witnessed to date. It is said to be able to absorb more than 99.96% of incoming light and reflect 10 times less light than other superblack materials. The invention may be interesting for the development of black silicon PV technology and carbon nanotube-based solar cells.

Western Australia-based solar glass developer ClearVue has announced it is now able to produce larger floor-height sized power-generating insulated glass units and window panels. The company hopes this will open new sales opportunities.

ITP Renewables has released Version 1 of open-CEM, an open-source modelling platform that allows users play out tailored made energy-transition scenarios on the National Electricity Market (NEM) for years simulated up to 2050. The platform is an extraordinary tool for investors, policy makers, project developers and the public.

After celebrating Sunovate’s first demo project, pv magazine Australia sat down with Co-Founder and Managing Director Cesira Leigh to talk all things Sunovate, how the rising Aussie solar PV innovator came to be, and where it’s going.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) today released its new Investment Plan, prioritising three key areas in an effort to increase the prevalence of renewable energies in Australia.

On the first day of this year’s EU PVSEC conference, Adelaide-based veteran solar researcher Pierre J Verlinden won the Becquerel Prize for Outstanding Merits in Photovoltaics. The award recognized more than 40 years as a leading PV researcher in academia and at leading companies including Sunpower and Trina Solar. Its recipient, now a board member of Australian solar technology provider BT Imaging, spoke to pv magazine about what is needed from solar to stave off catastrophic climate change.

The invention converts the energy produced by PV cells directly into mechanical motion without the need for batteries or power electronics. Its developers claim the robustness of the solar motor can drive water pumps and ventilation turbines for more than 20 years without the need for maintenance.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has today announced funding to United Energy, a Victorian distribution business, in order to trial a voltage-reduction demand response in an effort to deliver grid stability over the Australian summer.

Solar panel developers have long recognised the detrimental effects heat has on cell performance — an ironic sunny side effect. Australian company Sunovate has designed a cooling system that boosts energy output, and harnesses all that hot air.