EU governing bodies provisionally approve digital product passport
The European Commission and the European Parliament have provisionally agreed to revise the European Union’s sustainability product legislation. If formally approved, it will include the introduction of a digital product passport to increase transparency.
Australia’s biggest solar farm to supply power to supermarket chain
The Queensland government has announced that CleanCo is now providing Coles grocery stores with renewable energy for 95% of its electricity needs in the Australian state.
Reducing PV module temperature with beeswax, paraffin wax
Scientists in Iraq have applied two different kinds of phase-change materials to lower the operating temperatures of PV panels. Their experiment showed that beeswax and paraffin wax are particularly effective in achieving this goal, even when they are combined together.
New model to predict defrost cycles, behavior of air-sourced heat pumps in cold weather
UK-based researchers have developed a novel method to estimate the amount of defrost cycles a heat pump will experience in the winter and how much energy it would require to implement the cycles. The results of their simulation showed a strong relationship between the number of defrost cycles and the ambient temperature.
Tesla Cybertruck can power homes
Tesla’s new trucks offer 11.5 kW of power output to homes, and 9.6 kW of output via five plugs.
California deals blow to rooftop solar
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has prohibited the use of battery-tied solar exports to offset delivery charges, following its decision to slash the value of standalone solar exports in order to encourage the pairing of systems with battery storage.
Up to 1,150 families sign up for UK heat pump scheme
The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero says the latest round for its Boiler Upgrade Scheme – an initiative awarding GBP 7,500 ($9,500) to families in England and Wales to replace traditional boilers for heat pumps – “surged” with a threefold increase in applications.
Hybridizing anaerobic digestion with photovoltaic-thermal energy
Scientists in Spain have proposed to combine anaerobic digestion plants with photovoltaic-thermal panels and have found that this combination may achieve an LCOE of $0.045/kWh across several locations in Europe and North America.
EDF, Scatec Africa win South Africa’s battery procurement auction
The South African Government’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced French utility Électricité de France (EDF) will develop 257 MW of battery energy-storage systems across three projects, while South African renewable energy company Scatec Africa will develop one 103 MW project.
Toshiba develops lithium-ion battery prototype for high-voltage applications
Toshiba has developed a 1.5 Ah lithium-ion battery prototype with a voltage of more than 3 V. The device retains its initial efficiency for over 6,000 charge/discharge cycles and enables rapid charging to 80% of capacity within just five minutes.
