Sustainability

Austrian researchers developed a model to quantify the benefits of vehicle integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) on the energy needs of three different sizes of electric vehicle in the city of Graz, Austria, particularly the effect on battery energy and vehicle mileage.

Lithuania-based Solitek announced two new 435 W modules for integrated PV roofs featuring 22.04%-efficient cell technology. The Solitek’s Solid Solrif in-roof product line is paired with mounting systems supplied by Swiss-based Ernst Schweizer AG.

Trina Solar claims it has developed the world’s first “fully recyclable” 645 W PV module with 20.7% efficiency. It made the panel with interlayer separation reagents, chemical etching technology, and wet chemical silver extraction tech.

European industry association PV Cycle estimates a 10 MW solar site will eventually produce 700 tons of waste material. It is becoming increasingly clear that PV modules need end-of-life protocols – for the technology and material processing, and the regulatory environment.

Shifting requirements for supply chain traceability and carbon footprint disclosure, along with solar oversupply and unsustainably low module prices, have made 2024 a challenging year for PV manufacturers. Despite these obstacles, the industry remains committed to its crucial role in the global energy transition. pv magazine recently spoke with Haimeng Zhang, chief strategy and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) officer at Longi Green Energy, about how the sector is preparing to meet these challenges.

La Croisière Verte is the name of a 13,500 km expedition from the north to south of Africa in a fleet of four Citroën AMI vehicles, each carrying 5,600 W of lightweight PV panels in foldable packs.

Stanford University professor Mark Z. Jacobson spoke to pv magazine about testifying in support of young US climate activists and revealed which technologies he thinks will be most useful for the energy transition.

Worldwide, solar has an important part to play in preventing climate breakdown and reducing the frequency of extreme weather events. But the regions most vulnerable to these conditions face their own challenges in building resilient energy systems. The right approach to renewable energy development can reap multiple benefits in these regions, as pv magazine heard when it spoke to Kamal Kishore, Special Representative for the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

Dutch researchers used dynamic modelling to uncover the demand for silicon-based PV materials used in a wide range silicon PV technologies, including perovskite-silicon tandem and back-contact modules. The model included calculating the impact of advances in module efficiency and material intensity, as well as circular closed loop recycling.

The proposed system uses compressed air to store energy, as well as for the prevention of clogging in the irrigation tubes. Two experimental systems were built and tested in China and clogging was reduced by up to 93%.