Media. 29 Nov 2019 Are rare earths used in solar panels? A new report by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency reveals some surprises about the use of rare earth minerals in the renewable energy sector. Image: Torstensimon/Pixabay A new report by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe) shows that rare earth [...]

Media. 29 Nov 2019 Is Taiwan ready for GW-sized PV projects? Developers of huge solar parks on the island must deal with resistance from the government, other industrial players and the farming sector. Local agricultural producer Taisugar has downsized its plans to build solar plants across 1,000 hectares of land it owns, while semiconductor manufacturer [...]

Media. 28 Nov 2019 Bangladesh to assess impact of integrating renewables into grid The government has set a very low bar of achieving just 10% of its electricity supply from renewables as it tenders for consultants to advise it on how to incorporate intermittent generation into the national grid. International experts are needed to help [...]

Media. 28 Nov 2019 Tender for 50 MW of floating solar launched in Portugal The Alqueva Dam on the Guadiana River, in southern Portugal, will host ten floating PV projects mostly financed by a €45 million Council of Europe Development Bank loan. Floating solar installations at the dam, which will resemble those in this image, [...]

Media. 27 Nov 2019 Evergen goes to the people with crowdfunding campaign Evergen is looking to boost its growth in Australia and expand overseas as it opens a major capital raising campaign to private and wholesale investors on VentureCrowd. Renewable energy systems and software provider Evergen is looking to boost its growth in Australia and [...]

Media. 27 Nov 2019 Clean energy must be rolled out six times faster To have any hope of restricting global heating to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the renewables success story which saw 108 GW of solar deployed last year needs to be cranked up to the next level – and fast. The consequences [...]

Media. 26 Nov 2019 Peering into a 55% solar future for the US National Renewable Energy Lab researchers conducted hourly modelling based on a future energy mix containing 55% solar power and found spring days of free electricity among the results, emphasizing the critical role energy storage will play. Provided energy storage can be harnessed, [...]

Media. 26 Nov 2019 China reportedly ready to end large scale PV subsidies this year Having envisioned an 18-month transition to grid parity solar in the world’s biggest PV marketplace, developers of large scale projects are now reportedly being told the subsidy taps will be switched off at the end of December. The latest subsidy [...]

Media. 25 Nov 2019 Solar-plus-storage vs grid enhancement Two projects have been deployed by Canopy Power on private islands in Indonesia. The two 52.5 kW/77 kWh mini-grids were the only alternative to diesel generators due to the lack of a connection with the grid on the island of Batam. The projects – which rely on [...]

Media. 25 Nov 2019 Scientists hit 21.6% perovskite cell efficiency using concentrator PV An international research group achieved the result on a 9 sq mm, triple-cation based, n-i-p structured perovskite cell using low solar concentration levels. Device instability, however, remains a challenge. Researchers at the University of Exeter were part of the team which made [...]

Media. 22 Nov 2019 Part 5: WA experiences rooftop disruption beyond the NEM, ACT shines In late September, Western Australia’s government-owned electric utility registered an approximate AUD 657 million ($442.8 million) loss – much of it attributed to asset and contract writedowns. However, the utility was quick to blame rooftop PV for eating into its [...]

Media. 22 Nov 2019 First stage of landmark Agnew Gold Mine hybrid microgrid powers up Distributed energy producer EDL has officially opened a 23 MW power station that integrates solar with gas and diesel generation to power Gold Fields’ Agnew Gold Mine in Western Australia. The project is part of an innovative hybrid microgrid, which [...]