News

The ‘cradle-to-cradle’ certification is considered a globally recognised holistic product quality standard. The assessment is made for five categories: material health, recyclability of materials, energy management and CO2 emissions, water management and social responsibility

Research from renowned PV scientist Martin Green and colleagues at UNSW reveals that perovskite solar cells may struggle to deal with reverse-bias caused by uneven shading or other issues likely to appear in the field. Both the reverse-bias itself and resulting build up of heat can cause several of the materials commonly used in perovskite solar cells to degrade, and these issues have received only limited attention in research published to date. Solutions, however, are at hand.

New research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) predicts cumulative polysilicon demand of 46-87 Mt will be required to achieve 63.4 TW of PV installed by 2050.

The 2022 pv magazine Roundtables Europe focused on decarbonization throughout the continent. Linking sustainability to financial performance is a big part of this goal, as the second session, “Sustainability in action, raising the corporate bar,” attested to. During the panel discussion, four experts discussed end of life, circularity, material supply, project development, and the social community, as we approach terawatt solar scale.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has declared skyrocketing power prices and unprecedented market disruptions have confirmed the “urgent” need for the nation to fast-track its transition from a coal-dominated system to renewables, including wind and solar PV backed by batteries and other energy storage technologies.

International mining giant BHP has pushed forward with its first large-scale off-grid renewable energy project, installing the first solar PV panels at a 10.7 MW solar farm that will help power the company’s estimated $1 billion Nickel West mining operation in regional Western Australia.

A Spanish scientist has developed a system that reportedly produces hydrogen on-site without expensive electrolysis. The prototype utilises a water tank that is initially filled with water, ferrosilicon, and sodium hydroxide.

In other news, German energy company Uniper said it will test a new salt cavern built for hydrogen storage, while Serbia and Hungary signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on renewable hydrogen.

Network operator Transgrid has completed a $236 million upgrade to the Queensland-New South Wales Interconnector to facilitate the increased flow of electricity between the two states and reduce constraints on the New South Wales transmission network.

The Queensland government has exceeded its own expectations with 200,000 PV panels installed at more than 900 schools across the state as part of a $168 million solar installation program designed to help slash electricity costs and cut carbon emissions.