2021

Norwegian hydropower giant and Europe’s largest renewable energy generator, Statkraft, has published its annual “Low Emissions Scenario”, which describes investment in green projects as “unstoppable”, while calling for a dramatic scaling up for renewables, electrification and green hydrogen.

Energy consultancy DNV was tasked by module manufacturing giant Longi Solar with comparing the balance of systems costs between modules utilizing 182mm and 210mm wafers, based on a 3.7 MW project in three different layouts. The results reveal a slim cost advantage for the smaller of the two, based on both fixed tilt and tracker systems.

US data management company Iron Mountain has a growing portfolio of onsite and PPA renewables, and it’s one of the first major corporate firms to track its renewables by the hour as part of an innovative PPA that may serve as a forerunner for widespread 24/7 matching.

Panels being covered in volcanic ash can cause several problems – as has been seen recently with ongoing eruption in the Canary Islands. The weight of the ash may be too much for the structure to bear, sharp ash particles or small stones within the ash can scratch module glass, and acids or sulfur compounds contained in the ash can cause corrosion on the backsheet.

Construction has begun on a manufacturing pilot project to see battery-grade nickel, cobalt and manganese for precursor battery cathode materials (PCAM) in Perth. The facility is expected to be completed in early 2022 and is one of a number of developments that will look to establish Western Australia (WA) as a materials supplier to the growing battery manufacturing industry.

In a bid to enhance ratio of emissions-free generation in its energy mix, the Bangladesh government is condsidering replacing small-sized oil-fired power plants with new nuclear.

The urgency to decarbonize the building sector has caught global attention in the lead-up to the COP26 summit, commencing on Oct. 31. Wood Mackenzie’s Ben Hertz-Shargel says that success will require a two-pronged strategy of massively electrifying building heat over the coming decade, while also investing in technologies that can pick up future heating demand if the grid cannot handle it.

Sydney-based Providence Asset Group will use hydrogen-lithium battery technology at its solar farms, as it has partnered with Commonwealth Bank to fund a portfolio of 10 community-based PV plants as part of its broader ambitions to develop multiple 5 MW solar farms across eastern Australia.

Singareni Collieries Company Ltd., a state-owned Indian coal miner, has opened bids from project management consultants for a 250 MWp (DC) floating solar power plant it is developing. It will make a selection through domestic competitive bidding, followed by a reverse auction.

U.S. researchers have teamed up to analyze the economic benefit of annually adding 30 5 MW of community solar installations to Michigan’s grid for six years. Their results may surprise.