Magazine Archive 2023

In November 2022, Germany’s Energie Baden Württemberg and steelmaker Salzgitter Group signed one of Europe’s first power purchase agreements (PPAs) for hydrogen production. More have followed and with the European Union introducing rules to govern green hydrogen, an industry is planning for its future.

Kane Thornton, CEO of Australia’s Clean Energy Council.

Policymakers are awakening to the urgent need for long-duration energy storage (LDES) to help the world to create a zero-carbon energy system, writes Kevin Shang, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

Sustainability reporting is becoming commonplace in solar and inside these lengthy reports comes data that may guide investor decisions. However, a distinct lack of standardization leaves much room for interpretation and more shades of gray than green.

The annual SiliconPV Conference came to TU Delft in the Netherlands in April, and offered an important health check for the science and technology behind solar energy. pv magazine was on site to hear the latest from researchers reaching for higher efficiency through tandem cells and other innovations; looking to understand and mitigate cell degradation mechanisms; and working to cut down solar technology’s consumption of rare and expensive materials.

In May 2022, PV experts from around the world convened in Germany for the third Terawatt Workshop. Almost one year later, takeaways from discussions at the workshop – combined with a wide-ranging review of research on decarbonization pathways, energy demand projections, and the state of the art in PV technology – have led to the conclusion that 75 TW of installed solar capacity by 2050 is a realistic global target. More than 50 leading PV industry figures recently outlined the opportunity and the challenges that solar will face in reaching this goal.

With a career built on going places few humans would dare – including the North Pole and South Pole and the seven highest mountain peaks – adventurer Sibusiso Vilane understands how important power can be in remote places. Having recently returned from the Everest Base camp, 20 years after he became the first black African to summit the world’s highest mountain, Vilane says his understanding of how solar can light up lives is only growing.

Switzerland’s Meyer Burger has started manufacturing solar cells and modules at gigawatt scale at its three German sites, with plans for further expansion. Ypsator machines from Germany-based Robert Bürkle laminate the products, explains Matthias Fischer.