News

As it looks to replace its ageing coal-fired fleet and accommodate a growing share of renewables on its grid, New South Wales has pledged to nearly double the average payments landlords across the state receive for hosting high voltage transmission lines.

A looming energy storage shortfall has promoted renewed calls from the renewable energy industry for a national renewable energy storage scheme. The scheme would consist of a series of large-scale project tenders designed to unleash desperately needed investment.

US-based Nanotech Energy’s graphene battery uses proprietary electrodes with a thermally stable separator, and non-flammable electrolyte that is said to be inexpensive to manufacture. The technology is said to be superior in terms of safety and competitive in terms of cell performance.

The Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory revealed that most of the planned new solar cell production capacity relates to high-efficiency n-type cell technologies such as TOPCon and HJT.

In a project where the old world of energy meets the new, AGL will investigate the technical and financial feasibility of using thermal batteries to provide the steam for a 200 MW turbine at South Australia’s Torrens Island Power Plant, which usually run on gas.

ASX-listed Vulcan Energy, a company working on a project in Germany that it says will deliver ‘zero carbon’ lithium by combining geothermal plants with lithium electrolysis, today announced its pilot produced high grade lithium hydroxide which ‘easily exceeds’ battery grade specification.

Director of the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute, Dominic Zaal, offers a deep dive into the capabilities of concentrated solar thermal technology, including what has been proven by global projects so far and how the all important Power Purchasing Agreements stack up.

Spanish scientists have built a cooling system featuring heat exchangers on solar panels and U-shape heat exchangers installed in a borehole at a depth of 15 meters. The researchers claim that this reduces panel temperatures by up to 17%, while improving performance by about 11%.

In northern Australia, a new hardware-in-the-loop platform is being developed to test renewable projects aggregated generation control systems before commissioning. The platform brings control hardware together with software simulations of passive components to test in real time how different configurations respond. Should the platform successfully complete its upcoming demonstration, it could help solve Australia’s current connection crisis.

Former Tindo Solar CEO, Shayne Jaenisch, outlines how Australia’s renewables industry can avoid forced labour, cut waste, secure its supply chains and create a domestic manufacturing industry.