Sustainability

With the world’s islands already experiencing some of the worst effects of climate change, much could be learned from their ability to demonstrate the viability of 100% clean energy systems. Greening the Islands’ Gianni Chiannetta examines the case for two islands in the Caribbean Sea and Indian Ocean.

U.S researchers at the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory used a circular economy framework to determine how to scale, deploy, and design metal halide perovskite solar panels to be easily recyclable in the future.

Researchers have created a novel model that can help developers assess corn growth in agrivoltaic facilities. They also proposed to use spatiotemporal shadow distribution (SSD) to optimize crop yield and power production.

African governments are being encouraged to leave fossil fuels untapped in return for Just Energy Transition Plan (JETP) finance. Can these new financing plans from Western governments achieve their ambitious aims?

Scientists in Australia have incorporated overload capacity and power-dependent efficiency of the electrolyser in a novel techno-economic model to calculate the levelized cost of hydrogen. The proposed methodology was applied to ascertain the impact of internalizing environmental costs on the cost-competitiveness of green hydrogen compared to grey hydrogen.

The Israeli authorities have introduced new regulations requiring rooftop PV on new large buildings, with plans to install 3.5 GW by 2040. The minimum production capacity has been set at 5 kW.

The world’s reliance on the internet, the shift to cloud computing, and the emergence of AI all fuel demand for more and more data centers. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that by 2026, data centers will consume more than 800 TWh annually, more than double their consumption in 2022. Tristan Rayner takes a look at the role that renewable generation plays in powering a digital world.

Agri-food tech specialist N2OFF says it has entered the PV business by lending €375,000 ($407,000) to Israeli PV developer Solterra Renewable Energy. The loan is part of a larger €500,000 agreement, with the remaining €125,000 to come from other parties.

The IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme’s (IEA-PVPS) latest report on solar panel recycling offers a comprehensive review of all existing technologies in this market segment, from pure mechanical recycling to innovative techniques such as as light pulse treatment, water-jet cleaning, pyrolysis, and chemical treatments.

AgRE.tech, which is developing a robotic operating system for existing photovoltaic infrastructure, has raised $2 million from EDF and Zemach Regional Industries. The company says it will soon set up commercial fields.