News

The company supplying the technology for what has been branded Australia’s “biggest battery” has cautioned that manufacturers must ramp up their focus on hardware, increase investment in advanced software and improve testing practices to minimise the risk of lithium-ion batteries catching fire.

Four solar pioneers, including the Australian scientists Martin Green and Andrew Blakers, have been awarded the world’s most prestigious engineering prize for their groundbreaking research into solar cell technology.

One of Queensland’s largest clean energy projects has reached a new milestone with exploratory works and detailed site investigations commencing for the proposed 2 GW Borumba Dam pumped hydro project being developed near Gympie in the state’s southeast.

A team of Dutch university students under the banner Top Dutch Solar Racing has installed perovskite silicon tandem cells in its entry in the 16th edition of Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. The upcoming race is a six-day, 3,000km expedition across Australia, from Darwin to Adelaide.

Fortescue is pressing ahead with the development of a 70,000-tonne green hydrogen production facility at Gibson Island in Queensland, tapping North American hydrogen technology company Plug Power to supply 550 MW of electrolysers for the proposed project.

South Korean electronics manufacturer LG has updated the recall of its solar batteries with Australia’s consumer watchdog warning owners of LG-branded batteries to “immediately” switch off their solar storage systems amid concerns the battery may overheat and ignite.

New South Wales electricity distributor Endeavour Energy will upgrade the meters of thousands of customers throughout the state as part of a trial that aims to manage peak energy demand, provide participants with access to innovative energy services, and lower network costs for consumers.

pv magazine has learned that five solar-related fires in Germany and Austria occurred in late September. Photographs show that two of the blazes were likely caused by residential batteries manufactured by LG.

Off the back of recent legislative changes leading to ‘spurred’ solar PV development, combined with an extremely liberal market, a senior solar analyst from cleantech advisory company Apricum told pv magazine that the Philippines is ‘the place’ to rollout solar projects in Southeast Asia.

The Western Australian government has studied the business case for developing new electrolyser manufacturing facilities in the state, finding a 2 GW manufacturing facility could inject $200 million (USD 128 million) per annum to the local economy.