Hong Kong

Researchers in Hong Kong have designed an agrivoltaic system that uses blockchain tech and smart contracts to reduce uncertainties between PV system operators and grape farmers. The proposed system uses rainwater to clean solar panels and provide irrigation.

Western Australian solar window company ClearVue Technologies has won a tender to complete a study of its electricity generating glazing technology, which will be installed at a Hong Kong government department’s headquarters as part of a fully-funded field trial.

The University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), in collaboration with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Climate Science Centre, has published the findings of its national “Climate Skills Survey” of financial professionals. 

Renewables developer Maoneng has teamed with Hong Kong-based real estate fund manager Gaw Capital Partners to fast track the development of a 1.9 GW portfolio of big battery and utility-scale solar PV projects in Australia.

Singapore’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund GIC has made a “strategic” investment in renewables developer InterContinental Energy, one of the major players behind mega solar and wind-powered green hydrogen projects planned for Western Australia’s Pilbara and southeast regions.

Hydrogen is frequently touted as a major player in decarbonisation, and it is. But it will only be used at scale much later, and at a much lower level than solar and wind.

Corporate power purchase agreements are the second most adopted purchasing method in the world, and they’re growing fast. With the U.S. and Europe picking up the pace in the last year, the Asia Pacific is not going to be left behind, with Wood Mackenzie estimating corporate PPAs in the region doubled in the last year.

The tide of clean energy facilities planned under the city’s next five-year strategy was revealed by Hong Kong-listed polysilicon maker Xinte Energy, which has signed a framework agreement to construct 200,000 tons of manufacturing capacity near Inner Mongolia’s largest city.

Researchers from the City University of Hong Kong have developed an all-inorganic perovskite cell with an electron-pair donor which offers a pair of non-bonding electrons. The cell was developed by applying that ‘Lewis base’ small molecule to passivate the inorganic perovskite film.

Chinese scientists have developed a PV floor tile they say is suitable for pavements and cycling tracks. The devices were tested on a ‘green deck’ in Hong Kong. The developers say the tiles have demonstrated satisfactory solar energy conversion, anti-slip performance, heat-resistance and strength.