Sustainability

After a global flurry of green hydrogen announcements, fuel cell company insolvencies, and a sharp market reassessment, solar developers are questioning near-term green hydrogen demand. pv magazine’s Carrie Hampel takes a look at the international landscape.

An international research team has developed a new machine that utilizes shockwaves to separate the different materials of a PV module. Chemical processes can be further used to extract silicon and silver. Results show the recovery of more than 99.5% of the original weight of the panels.

Scientists in Japan have conducted a field experiment in rice plantations hosting agrivoltaics systems and have found that rice growth can be affected by reduced biomass and reduced panicle number. However, their analysis has also shown that gross return in lowland rice agrivoltaics can be 14 times higher than rice growth without PV.

Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has published a solar strategy to scale up deployment and drive next-generation technology, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050.

Developers from the renewable energy and data center markets are working to find common ground to meet surging energy demand fueled by the artificial intelligence boom.

Researchers have utilized measured data from a small energy community on a Finnish university campus to simulate its operation under various control strategies. The first control strategy prioritizes the use of heat pumps, while the second prioritizes price. Total costs were reduced by up to 25% with the second option.

The European Commission has established three Horizon Europe partnerships to improve technological prowess, industrial strength, and eco-friendly innovation, channeling nearly €1.1 billion ($1.19 billion) by 2030 into photovoltaics, advanced materials, and textiles.

Scientists have used simplified 2D view factor and advanced 3D approach to calculate energy fluxes on green roofs with PV systems. They have also constructed an experimental setup to verify their model and have found that without the detailed model, evapotranspiration would be underestimated by 18%.

The European Commission has launched the Clean Industrial Deal, a plan to boost industrial competitiveness and accelerate decarbonization. The initiative aims to lower energy costs, support clean technology, and streamline regulations amid high energy prices and global competition.

Scientists have grown strawberries under thin-film cadmium telluride panels with varying transparency. They found that 40% transparency maintained a greater than 80% yield of uncovered plants. If all strawberry farms in the world were converted to agrivoltaics, they would produce up to 173 TWh a year.