Floating PV to offset underperforming hydropower
Brazil now has 12 GW of underperforming hydropower capacity, according to U.S. researchers. Large-scale floating PV is an ideal solution to offset this shortfall, due to its high capacity factor, load correlation, and high potential output during periods of high demand.
Windbreak walls for solar farms
Iasol has developed a new way to protect solar plants in windy conditions. The Spanish developer said the solution barely has an impact on project costs or output, while preventing expensive damages.
First Solar changes course: now selling its thin-film solar panels into the distributed generation market
The utility-scale solar pioneer and specialist is going small. After decades of avoiding distributed generation, its distributors will now offer First Solar’s series 6 modules to “projects and customers of all shapes and sizes.”
Sales processes central to avoiding ‘crap solar’
‘The cheapest PV system usually ends up being the most expensive,’ was an adage shared during the Smart Energy Council’s virtual conference yesterday – and it’s true for householders, installers and the industry at large. The session employed the colloquial term ‘crap solar’ for substandard systems and components, with attendees leaving the event with a host of strategies as to how it could be avoided.
Green light for the $300 million green Bundaberg Hydrogen Hub
The first of three large-scale green hydrogen plants in the pipeline of the Green Hydrogen Australia Group has been given the green light. The Bundaberg Hydrogen Hub, featuring an 80 MW hydrogen electrolyser, will produce clean hydrogen for Australian hydrogen vehicle developer H2X.
UNSW’s grid-guru Prof. Dong nominated for global energy gong
University of New South Wales’ Professor Joe Dong, the grid-guru overseeing some of the most innovative and integral research projects determining Australia’s trajectory to a grid energised by renewables, has been nominated for the Global Energy Prize.
Sterling and Wilson takes dominant EPC position in Australian market
International EPC Sterling Wilson has picked up two new utility scale solar projects in Australia, with a combined capacity of 300 MW. The deals see the Indian-based company secure the position of being the dominant solar EPC in the Australian PV market.
Hydrogen to go
German company Wystrach has developed a 350-bar hydrogen refueling station for heavy duty vehicles which can be installed anywhere.
Goyder Renewables Zone off to a capital start as ACT charges up two big batteries
The forecast for the ACT is two big batteries and gale-force winds as the territory’s Government awarded two considerable contracts in its latest ‘reverse auction’, including a 14-year contract with Neoen, the first for its massive Goyder Renewables Zone.
Byron Shire Council’s draft net zero action plan is a demonstration of good framing policy
It is not surprising that Byron Bay is ahead on its eco-friendly activity, but Byron Shire Council’s latest draft Net Zero Emissions Action Plan is an example of how framing policy can provide the active space for energy transition – an example the Morrison Government would be wise to follow.
