Policy

Electrifying the global energy system with clean energy is the only way to reach the targets set by the Paris agreement on climate change and avoid the catastrophic scenarios outlined by the recent IPCC report. In an interview with pv magazine, Christian Breyer – Professor of Solar Economy at Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology – explains a 100% renewables model is not only technically feasible, but also the cheapest and safest option. With solar and storage at its core, the future energy system envisaged by Breyer and his team will not only stop coal, but also nuclear and fossil gas, while seeing solar reach a share of around 70% of power consumption by 2050. By that time, PV technology could cost a third of its current price.

The farming sector alone offers a potential $40bn marketplace, thanks to rice transplanting, pesticide spraying and grain harvesting – says the Council on Energy, Environment and Water thinktank.

For renewables to claim a more sizable share of the global energy mix, the adoption of energy storage would need to pick up pace and the rapidly increasing size of the EV fleet will offer a scalable way to ramp up such access, says Fitch Solutions.

An AUS$500,000 capital injection from the arms-length, state-funded renewable energy organisation takes to $800,000 the amount of public money which will be donated to a $1.74m project designed to make procuring clean energy easier for business and local authorities.

Lithium Werks has ambitious plans for a global chain of utility-scale production lines that has secured the backing of the Netherlands government and PM Mark Rutte, as EU leaders contemplate a post-US trade future.

A project has demonstrated the numerous advantages of PV recycling and highlighted three techniques to turn panel waste into high-value materials.

Taipei will invest in the company through its National Development Fund and government-run glass manufacturer Yao Hwa Glass Co. Ltd.

Deal negotiated with local electric utility for cheaper energy and a comprehensive modernization program will enable the poly maker to drive down production costs even more aggressively as it bids for market share in a swollen marketplace.

The country’s second 70 MW procurement – for solar projects up to 10 MW in size – was launched in May. The Tunisian government had already extended the deadline for the tender in August.

According to a UC Berkeley study, the falling costs of storage technologies will make it possible for Sub-Saharan countries to rely on decentralized systems based mainly on solar-plus-storage, bringing access to electricity to more than 600 million people.