News

A U.S. scientist has developed a computational framework that assesses how well a hypothetical agrivoltaic project would perform in achieving desired outcomes such as the volume of PV electricity produced, and energy-to-agriculture. The method considers the high-frequency decomposition of solar irradiance into multiple rays and analyzes how these rays are propagated forward in time, to assess multiple reflections and absorption for various system configurations. It also takes into account panel inclination, panel refractive indices, sizes, shapes, heights, and albedo.

Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, and the Australian Energy Market Operator have found even when factoring in additional ‘integration’ costs such as storage and new transmission infrastructure, solar and wind continue to be the cheapest sources of new-build electricity generation in Australia.

South Australian transmission company ElectraNet on Monday announced it will invest $457.4 million to deliver the its section of the Project EnergyConnect, the high-voltage electricity transmission interconnector between South Australia and New South Wales.

The Queensland government has today announced $22 million for detailed design and cost analysis for a new pumped hydro facility at Borumba Dam, west of the Sunshine Coast.

Australian technology company RayGen Resources has received funding to build a 3 MW/50 MWh ‘solar hydro’ power plant. Described by ARENA as the “first of a kind,” it is being lauded as one of the largest and lowest cost storage projects undertaken in the country. Energy giant AGL has also come onboard and will assess whether the technology would be suitable for its soon-to-retire Liddell facility.

Global Energy Ventures, the firm currently working on a 2,000t hydrogen cargo ship, has announced the commencement of construction on a 430t pilot-scale version to service the emerging market for economies wanting begin blending small amounts of green hydrogen into existing gas networks by mid-2020s.

Commodity trader Trafigura and Oslo-based ammonia leader Yara International ASA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see supply of clean ammonia as well as joint R&D projects as the two companies look to promote clean ammonia as a shipping fuel and develop its value chain and infrastructure.

Widespread green hydrogen deployment will be key to achieving stringent climate targets, and German hydrogen demand is set to grow from the 80 TWh range in 2030 to between 400 TWh and 800 TWh by 2050, according to a new joint study by several Fraunhofer-related entities.

NASA scientists have partially cleaned up the solar modules of the Insight lander operating on Mars, by using grain sands collected nearby and trickling them on the panels during the windiest time of the day. This handmade technique has made it possible, according to them, to increase the PV array’s yield of about 30 watt-hours of energy per ‘sol,’ or Martian day.

The new product has an efficiency of 98.8% and a European efficiency of up to 98.5%. It features 10 independent maximum power point tracking (MPPT) inputs, with MPPT voltage ranging from 180-1000 V.