Technology and R&D

The state plans to achieve half the amount by 2021-22 under its new draft solar policy. The package also suggests establishing a research hub, privately financed solar parks and encouraging commercial self-consumption of clean energy.

Mathematicians at Canada’s University of Waterloo who turned their attention to solar power have developed an algorithm they say offers better control over PV plant output. The researchers estimate the algorithm could improve the output of a 100 MW power plant by almost a million kilowatt-hours per year.

The Australian Renewable Energy Arena (ARENA) has approved up to $9.41 million in conditional funding to Hazer Group for the construction and operation of a groundbreaking hydrogen production facility in Munster, Western Australia. The project is utilizing biogas produced at the treatment plant as feedstock to produce hydrogen and graphite.

Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) have pushed the boundaries of solar cell efficiency by setting a record of 21.6% efficiency with perovskite cells above a certain size.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Tokyo has discovered a new material which, when rolled into a nanotube, generates an electric current if exposed to light. If magnified and scaled up, say the scientists, the technology could be used in future high-efficiency solar devices.

With the benefits solar panels can bring to cropland being considered in Europe, PV and aquaculture are working in tandem in Vietnam. Shrimp and fish farming requires land and lots of water but solar panels are helping mitigate those demands.

Scientists at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology have developed a method for producing a ‘smart fabric’ with a supercapacitor energy storage device embedded in it. Its developers say it can be readily integrated with a solar cell or used to power wearable technology.

CQSola, the startup company of Australian energy innovators Ian and Tony Schirmer, will soon begin manufacturing a DC optimiser that promises to solve many of the inherent problems of solar farming, increase energy output, and drive greater insights into large-scale solar energy production.

Two reports have described how the world’s largest renewable energy market is moving towards maturity. According to the Brookings Institution, the Chinese clean energy market could become more open to Western investors and tech. A report by Fitch claims projects are moving back to inland provinces from coastal regions.

The University of Adelaide has begun construction on its new 1.2 MW solar farm which will be used to supply the Roseworthy Campus with clean energy and provide a practical source of study in the fields of solar PV, energy storage and solar site management.