World

Around 392 GW of photovoltaics will be added in 2023. This is more capacity than all worldwide nuclear power plants in operation in 2022, which was 371 GW cumulatively.

Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) has approved a hydrogen-powered multi-purpose vessel in Japan, while Toyota has decided to use fuel cell coaches for transport during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that there was increased sunshine across the South American tropics last month, with solar assets accruing up to 120% of irradiance gains for September.

This week, pv magazine was in Taipei for the Energy Taiwan exhibition. The island is moving forward on net-zero ambitions and hosts a renewable energy industry ready to support other companies in achieving them. There is much focus on energy storage and grid integration, as Taiwan looks to create space in its grids for more renewable energy. However, with elections upcoming in early 2024 and one party likely to favor nuclear over renewables, many projects are now on hold.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

If demand picks up again toward the end of the year due to the current price situation, the downward trend for PV module prices could be stopped, according to pvXchange’s Martin Schachinger.

The US Department of Energy has allocated $7 billion for seven Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) to deploy commercial-scale clean hydrogen, while the Mission Possible Partnership, RMI, Systemiq, Power2X, and industry leaders have set up the Transatlantic Clean Hydrogen Trade Coalition (H2TC) to ship US clean hydrogen to Europe by 2026.

RMIT University in Australia has developed new software that integrates product, regulation, technical, economic, and construction data. It helps architects and engineers to estimate the cost of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) during the conceptual design phase.

The IEA PVPS Trends Report for 2023 discloses a historic milestone in the photovoltaic (PV) industry, surpassing 1 TW of cumulative capacity. The PV industry registered significant global growth in 2022, with China and Europe leading in charge. PV competitiveness in the market was strong, despite some regions facing problems due to supply issues, grid capacity constraints or labor shortages. The report shows that global collaboration, innovation and strategic planning remain key to a sustainable energy transition.

Alexis Issaharoff has created the ‘Sustainable Solar House’ project, which generates and produces its own food, water and energy. If the project gets enough votes, LEGO will consider creating it as a kit.