Sustainability

While the chief executive of Ukraine’s biggest private energy company scrupulously mentioned the role renewables could play in counteracting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, he called for his country’s gas market to be liberalized just as the European Commission appears set to rubber stamp gas as ‘sustainable.’

The Indian Ocean island nation, which has been a prominent voice in the global calls to combat rising sea levels, will get technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank to draw up a tender for 20-30MW of photovoltaic generation capacity.

Sharply rising PV module prices were one of the most notable developments in global solar markets in 2021. And while it dampened PV installations, with some projects delayed or canceled, the higher prices may point to a future where robust and stable demand leads to more sustainable pricing trends.

The EU’s Sustainable Taxonomy was intended to complement the Green Deal, provide investors with certainty about the sustainability of their investments, and help channel billions into sustainable, low-carbon processes and technologies. Despite input from experts and NGOs, the inclusion of gas and nuclear power just proposed by the Commission suggests that, once again, politics is trumping science.

A row between the Greek ministry of the environment and energy, the country’s electricity utility, and a journalist has shown that Greece still has pro-lignite voices in key posts and that the government must move quickly if it wants to realize its coal phase-out plans.

Buildings are key to our daily lives and significantly impact our health and wellbeing. The majority also have substantial carbon footprints, employing heavy use of fossil fuels across their lifetimes, from their construction, use, and demolition phases. Thus, in Q4 2021, pv magazine’s UP Initiative focused on the role solar and energy storage can play in greening the world’s urban spaces.

Despite the global Covid-19 pandemic and recession, corporate purchases of clean energy are booming. Several factors are driving this trend, including falling costs, a heightened appetite for sustainability among consumers and investors, and increased political will for net-zero development. In recognition of this, the UP Initiative spent Q3 2021 investigating sustainable electricity supply. How are PPA models evolving? What are the critical issues around residual energy? And how can greenwashing be avoided? Read on to discover more.

There is increasing pressure, globally, for companies to be held more accountable, particularly when it comes to sustainability and just working conditions, and this topic is only growing in importance. With this in mind, pv magazine’s UP Initiative spent Q2 2021 looking at what solar and energy storage companies could do to lead by positive example when it comes to the workers, often far removed, involved in the production of their products and services.

2021 marked the second year of pv magazine’s UP Initiative where we shined a spotlight on sustainability in the solar industry. Over the course of 12 months, we focused on four key issues. First up was agrivoltaics – the combination of agriculture and solar energy – in recognition of this emerging market. The goal was to understand the potential benefits and economic, political, and technical challenges of such an innovative partnership. Read on to discover our coverage from this quarterly theme and watch out over the coming days for the topics of Workers’ rights, Sustainable electricity and corporates’ critical solar role, and Urban Solar.

Investment is required so electricity distribution networks can be upgraded to keep pace with an explosion in generation capacity over the last decade, and to harness the potential of renewables and energy storage.