2021

Production waste puts a dent in the perception of sustainability of batteries. Northvolt, however, has partnered with a young Swedish company to make the best use of the battery production waste, and also help to decarbonize the fertilizer industry while they are at it.

Re-Source 2021 took place in Amsterdam at the end of last week, and pv magazine was there to cover the event where the suppliers and sellers of renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) meet the (largely corporate) buyers, though encouraging PPA uptake among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was among the major talking points, including ‘additionality’, de-risking renewable PPAs and 24/7 matching.

With a rising chorus of voices calling for more solar industry recruits to perform the energy transition, Nigeria already has a skilled base of PV engineers and, with a little help filling the few gaps they have in their knowledge, the nation can step into the breach immediately, as Testimony Gabe-Oji, chief technology officer for Abuja-based installer Green Energy Spectrum, explains.

The leading industrial electrolyzer maker is planning to expand its alkaline electrolysis business with the construction of a large-scale production site in Germany that will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 500 MW by 2023, with a further extension to gigawatt-scale already in the planning.

Shipments and revenue both rose in the first three quarters, for a company which this year announced the painful consequences of winding down its cell manufacturing operation were behind it.

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures’ (FRV) Australian platform includes 637 MW (DC) in projects already operational or under construction, and a pipeline comprising 7 GW of solar projects and 1.3 GWh of battery storage.

The modular solar marketplace is growing, especially in Australia where remote mining and agricultural sites appreciate the benefits of compact, movable solar. One new entrant is Western Australia’s CDI Energy with its “Rapid Solar Module”, which CDI founder and CEO Darryl Bower told pv magazine is up to 30% cheaper than fixed axis alternatives.

One PV installer in Wales said he has experienced a 1,000% surge in demand for solar panels as rocketing gas prices have forced small energy suppliers in the U.K. to the wall and created uncertainty in households.

Despite investing US$605 million in Bangladesh’s energy sector during the last five years, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has reportedly not supported a single renewable energy project, according to experts and environmental activists.

Mobile test equipment is a must for fault detection and performance monitoring of large-scale PV installations. The Australian PV Institute has contributed to an international review of available aerial and portable ground-based technologies, and how to deploy them for reliable, relatable results.