Study stresses urgent need for action with solar waste tipped to reach 1.2 GW annually
A new report has called for large PV waste and recycling facilities to be established in major Australian cities as a matter of priority with solar waste predicted to reach 100,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to 1.2 GW per year, by the end of the decade.
Interview: Guiding consumers to make smart solar decisions
A new guide is hoping to point Australian households in the direction of the right solar system for their home, today and into the future. Mike Roberts, from the UNSW, helped create the Solar Consumer Guide and smart tools like SunSPOT and explained how they work.
UNSW research finds high temperatures increase module degradation
A UNSW study has shown that hotter temperatures, as result of climate change, means solar panels are at greater risk of degradation. Prolonged exposure to harsher outdoor conditions increase the cost of solar energy in hotter Australian regions.
UNSW research finds solar can act as early bushfire warning system
While investigating on the effects of wildfire smoke on rooftop PV installations, University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers have found that solar arrays, due to their sensitivity to smoke, could serve as an early warning detection of wildfires by providing temporal and spatial information on the presence and approximate concentrations of smoke.
Solar waste tipped to provide material supply security
Researchers from the University of New South Wales have rejected suggestions that end-of-life solar panels will create a “waste mountain” in Australia, saying instead that they could serve as valuable material reservoirs for future production.
As Australia’s net zero transition threatens to stall, rooftop solar could help provide the power we need
Distributed energy resources (DERs), sometimes called “consumer energy resources”, like rooftop PV and residential batteries, have a big role to play in Australia’s energy transition. This is even more true as major infrastructure faces challenges in winning community acceptance and gaining the required approvals. But how best to manage expanding DERs? A team of UNSW researchers including Anna Bruce, Baran Yildiz, Dani Alexander, and Mike Roberts set out the challenges and opportunities.
UNSW researchers solve aqueous rechargeable zinc battery challenge
Researchers from The University of New South Wales have developed a “scalable solution” they say overcomes the rechargeability challenges associated with aqueous zinc battery technology, potentially redefining energy storage for homes and grids.
Black Summer wildfires impaired solar output, caused financial losses up to $29 million, researchers find
Smoke from wildfires significantly effects solar output, researchers from UNSW have found. Specifically, Australia’s Black Summer in 2019 – 2020 caused energy losses from residential and utility PV systems estimated between 175 to 35 GWh, equating to a worst-case financial loss of around $6.1 to $29 million.
Martin Green’s solar cell efficiencies at a glance – updated
The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 63 of the solar cell efficiency tables. There are six new results reported in the new version.
Solar productivity negatively impacted by emissions and aerosols, study finds
A study by engineers at UNSW, published in the Renewable Energy journal, shows that aerosols and greenhouse gas emissions reduce the productivity of photovoltaic installations and that this differs according to the global region.
