Adding 50MW/64.5 MWh to Tesla’s big battery in Australia
The Essential Services Commission of South Australia has approved plans to expand the Tesla big battery from 100 MW to 150 MW.
Low-cost direct solar-to-hydrogen ambitions see the light
The road to cheap hydrogen production is riddled with potholes and energy losses. Researchers in Australia have demonstrated rethinking solar technology and skipping electrolysers could hold great promise for reaching the hydrogen holy grail.
Tender launched for 14.8 MW/40.9 MWh of solar+storage in Ecuador
The Conolophus project, to be built on Santa Cruz Island in Galapagos National Park, will reduce regional diesel consumption.
EU needs 108 GW of battery storage for 2030 climate targets
The EU appears poised to roll out battery storage capacity to provide flexibility to systems with more variable renewables. The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy has also noted policies that must be addressed to establish a level playing field for storage.
Supply chain concerns will drive EV battery recycling policies
With electric vehicles starting to gain traction, the International Energy Agency’s updated, ten-year e-mobility forecast has suggested geopolitical and economic concerns will trump environmental niceties when it comes to encouraging recycling. But what price ever-cheaper batteries?
PV-electrochemical water-splitting for hydrogen production
A German research team has developed a new photovoltaic-electrochemical device for alkaline water electrolysis. The prototype has an initial solar‐to‐hydrogen efficiency of approximately 7.7%.
Global solar capacity may reach 1,448 GW in 2024
SolarPower Europe has predicted the volume of new PV capacity added this year will be 4% less than last year’s figure because of the Covid-19 crisis. At the end of 2019, the world had topped 630 GW of solar. For 2020, around 112 GW of new PV capacity is expected, and in 2021, newly installed capacity could be 149.9 GW if governments support renewables in their coronavirus economic recovery plans.
Plans unveiled for 1 GW solar-storage-hydrogen facility in China
Chinese developer Panda Green says it has negotiated exclusive rights to develop a $1.41 billion project in Xinjiang which will feature PV and photothermal generation, hydrogen production and energy storage.
Hydrogen storage in salt caverns
Researchers in Germany have identified salt caverns as a feasible and flexible solution for hydrogen storage. They also revealed that Europe has the potential to inject hydrogen in bedded salt deposits and salt domes, with a total storage capacity of 84.8 PWh.
Analyst expects ‘unprecedented’ consolidation of Chinese solar industry
PV manufacturers unable to live with proposed new quality guidelines and project developers alike are set to be squeezed out by the state in the world’s biggest solar market, according to Frank Haugwitz, who has compiled a market update as preparations for the next five-year plan gather pace.
