Light and shade of 500 W plus solar panels – part IV
In the fourth and final article of a series, pv magazine editor Pilar Sánchez Molina analyzes with industry experts challenges and opportunities created by new panels with power output exceeding 500 W.
SA social housing to become world’s biggest VPP
3,000 social housing properties in South Australia are to be transformed into the world’s largest virtual power plant (VPP). Tesla has picked up a grants ARENA and the SA Government, and an investment from CEFC to execute the $60.6 million project, which is intended to deliver lower electricity costs for residents and a more stable grid.
Inverted pyramid-based PERC solar cell with 21.4% efficiency
A Chinese research group has developed a PERC cell on a commercial 180-μm-thick monocrystalline silicon wafer with a standard size of 156 × 156 mm2. The cell has an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.677 V, a short short-circuit current (ISC) of 9.63 A, and a fill factor of 80.30%.
Light and shade of 500 W plus solar panels – part III
In the third article in a series, pv magazine editor Pilar Sánchez Molina and industry experts continue their discussion on the challenges and opportunities created by new panels with power output exceeding 500 W.
Australia’s first large scale solar garden – city dwellers of the world, unite!
Almost a third of Australians are locked behind the solar barrier, they’re renters, tenants, urban apartment-dwellers who don’t have the luxury of installing their own solar PV. However, now city-dwellers can participate in the solar transition too, by becoming members of the Haystacks Solar Garden which operates in much the same way as community garden.
ANU study shows Australia still leading per capita renewable uptake, but policy is stifling progress
New analysis from The Australian National University along with recently published figures from the Clean Energy Regulator demonstrate that Australia remains the world leader in wind and solar deployment per capita, particularly rooftop PV. However, federal policy is failing to invest in desperately needed infrastructural upgrades.
Forget 7-star luxury, Adelaide is now home to a 10-star sustainable home
South Australia’s first ten-star home was completed last month, a home that consumes twenty times less energy than the average Australian household, in part thanks to its Fimer React 2 solar hybrid system.
Light and shade of 500 W plus solar panels – part II
In the second article in a series, pv magazine editor Pilar Sánchez Molina and industry experts keep discussing the challenges and opportunities created by new panels with power output exceeding 500 W.
BHP signs semi-renewable PPA with CleanCo for its Queensland coal mines
Australian mining giant BHP has signed a five-year power purchase agreement with CleanCo as it looks to cut emissions from its electricity use at its QLD coal mines by 50% by 2025. The agreement relies on a variety of energy sources, including gas, at least until the Western Downs Green Power Hub comes online in late 2022. Critics have described the deal as “greenwashing”.
NAIF lends support to NT’s first privately owned solar and gas projects
The Federal Government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility is backing Melbourne-based investment firm Merricks Capital to the tune of $37 million for the construction of a 10 MW solar farm and a 12 MW gas power plant south of Darwin. The twin projects are set to be the first privately owned and operated energy projects in the Territory.
