Commercial landlord begins battery foray following major solar rollout
Major shopping centre landlord, Vicinity Centres, has teamed up with Enel X to potentially deploy up to 50 MWh of cumulative energy storage capacity. The partnership kicks off with two battery fit outs in Victoria and New South Wales, and follows a $73.2 million (USD 50 million) solar rollout across Vicinity’s shopping centres.
Photocatalytic water splitting with 9.2% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency
A US research team has developed a new technique to produce hydrogen from sunlight and water. It works in an indoor environment and uses pure water, concentrated solar light, and an indium gallium nitride photocatalyst.
Huasun unveils 715 W heterojunction solar module
Chinese manufacturer Huasun launched a new line of five heterojunction (HJT) solar modules in 2022, with power outputs ranging from 680 W to 700 W. The company has now added a new 715 W module to the series.
Weekend read: Puerto Rican resilience
Before Puerto Rico had a chance to recover from Hurricane Maria, in 2017, it was rocked by earthquakes and then, in September 2022, the island was struck again – this time by Hurricane Fiona. These disasters severely impacted Puerto Rico’s infamously fragile power grid, but have emboldened local communities to take power into their own hands through solar and battery storage, and increasingly in the form of microgrids. Compelled by catastrophic circumstances, Puerto Rico must now push toward energy resilience and in the process may see itself become a model not just for other islands, but mainland grids as well.
ARENA funds development of national standards for harmonic compliance
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s recent funding spree has continued after it awarded a further $1.04 million (USD 700,000) to the University of Wollongong for a project that will look to develop national standards for harmonic compliance assessments. The current and rather ad hoc methodologies are proving incapable of addressing the challenges brought with increased renewable energy integration.
Pioneering solar researcher hails funding ‘turnaround’
World-leading solar researcher UNSW Scientia Professor Martin Green says that PV research activities in Australia right across the value chain will be accelerated by the recent $41.5 million (USD 28.5 million) funding awards from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. The funding will foster the development of ultra-low-cost solar by extending and expanding nine UNSW solar research programs.
Gravitricity to deploy prototype underground hydrogen storage system
Gravitricity, an Edinburgh-based storage specialist, aims to develop the first full-scale demonstration of its underground hydrogen storage solution by working with structural engineering contractor VSL Systems UK.
New electrolyser to split saltwater into hydrogen
Chinese scientists have developed a new way to split seawater into hydrogen without using a separate desalination process. They incorporated a self-breathable waterproof membrane and a self-dampening electrolyte (SDE) into the electrolyser, so water migrates from the seawater across the membrane to the SDE, without extra energy consumption.
US startup to build 100 MW solar plant with modules on ground
Erthos claims that with its new installation method, solar facilities could occupy just one-third of the surface covered by conventional PV plants, potentially reducing installations costs by up to 20%.
Ultra-low-cost solar research projects receive $41.5 million funding boost
The strength of applications for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s ultra-low-cost solar research funding round was so strong the agency had to add $1.5 million (USD 1.03 million) to its original allocation. The strength of competition pushed the process into 2023, but now the 13 research projects aiming to achieve ultra-low-cost solar have been awarded.
