Sustainability

A leaked letter apparently sent by a diplomatic official states Beijing will no longer consider coal-related investment in Bangladesh, firing speculation that policy could be applied along all of the vast twin trade routes.

A 1.2 MWp installation featuring more than 4,500 solar panels has sheltered a berry crop from high temperatures and damp to strengthen the claims made by agrivoltaics companies that their systems can offer climate change mitigation as well as clean energy.

A robust national strategy, a portfolio of renewable energy assets, public subsidies and, ideally, existing gas pipelines will all favor African nations aiming to become exporters in the energy storage medium, participants heard at a recent two-day green hydrogen conference.

Trade bodies the Africa Solar Industry Association and the African Hydrogen Partnership hosted a two-day virtual conference to discuss the role green hydrogen can play in economic growth across the continent–and how it could drive desalination in freshwater-starved coastal countries.

Having fallen far short of its ambition to generate 10% of its power from renewables by last year, Dhaka is preparing to reformulate its national clean power target.

The bloc should accelerate investment into mining and processing within its shores, as well as ramping up recycling, according to European employers and trades unions, with coal workers already equipped with the necessary transferable skills.

An Anglo-German report has suggested the environmentally-friendly desire to use only clean power to produce hydrogen, outlined by nations such as Germany, could end up being more emissions-heavy than the more pragmatic embrace of blue hydrogen under consideration in the U.K.

Rivalry is an integral part of the global business landscape, particularly in an industry like solar where products have become commodities. However, as Steven Davies, EMEA market manager for DuPont Teijin Films underlines, when it comes to sustainability, cross-industry partnerships are increasingly necessary to overcome the challenges companies are facing, including changing consumer demands and supply chain risks posed from climate change disruptions.

It is hoped 100% solar home system installation–with householders able to buy, or lease on a PAYG basis–will offer a template for installation in remote communities across Africa.

The fossil fuel assets belonging to the state-owned parent of China Power International Development might overshadow the latter’s green claims but the Hong Kong-listed utility said it reached full operation at 940 MW of solar farms in 2020–more than half of it unsubsidized.