Sustainability

The weeks ahead could prove decisive for the bloc’s decarbonization ambitions as the European Parliament prepares for several votes and legislative proposals from the commission. The European Climate Law and the Just Transition Fund are critical parts of the European Green Deal but remain points of contention at Brussels.

Three big projects are candidates for support from the Covid recovery plan laid out by the bloc.

Clean energy power plants will figure prominently as Queensland and Victoria bid to reset their economies for a post-coronavirus world. France suffered a hit to its new solar deployment figures in the first half of a Covid-hit year but its neighbor appears to have no such concerns.

Some 81% of the everyday folk asked how the U.K. should realize its net zero 2050 ambition said solar should be part of the mix and views were also aired on electric and hydrogen transport, home heating and how to incentivize companies to embrace a circular manufacturing model.

A number of companies are now racing to find new materials to replace toxic or otherwise unsafe elements in PV modules, in pursuit of circular economic ideals. In a similar vein, many researchers are also looking for ways to recycle and reuse some of these materials at the end of solar panel lifetimes. In line with these efforts, artificial intelligence and machine learning now play a critical role in identifying new chemical footprints for PV modules and cells.

Government ministers Barbara Pompili and Bruno Le Maire today unveiled a national strategy for carbon-free hydrogen to the French Association for hydrogen and fuel cells and other major players in the state’s hydrogen economy.

Researchers say the technology could help drive clean energy deployment in countries with limited grids or in isolated, coal-based energy systems. According to their model, Kosovo could see a strong increase in wind and PV capacity if power-to-heat is coupled with thermal energy storage for fixed-capacity district heating.

The transnational West African Power Pool is seeking consultants for an environmental impact study as well as transaction advisors for a project under development since October.

In a national park in Chile, a hydropower plant has been combined with a solar system and battery storage to replace diesel generation.

KilowattSol CEO Xavier Daval has criticized the absence of references to solar in the French government’s post-Covid recovery plan, which has allocated €30 billion to the energy transition. The head of the PV technical advisory says solar must become more central to France’s strategic choices and China must not be allowed to retain its near-monopoly on PV panel manufacturing.