MIT scientists develop concentrated solar power system to produce hydrogen
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientists have developed a train-like concentrated solar power (CSP) system for hydrogen production, with plans to build a prototype in the coming year. They say that this innovative system can capture up to 40% of the sun’s heat to produce environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel.
New opportunities for 4-hour-plus energy storage
Energy storage with more than four hours of duration could assume a key role in integrating renewable energy into the U.S. power grid on the back of a potential shift to net winter demand peaks, says the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Solar panel waste is not a significant problem
Solar panel waste will not be a problem because there is so little of it. However, there is a short-term problem in some places because panel deployment is growing fast and recycling is playing catch up.
Solar power generation soars in Mexico, southwestern U.S.
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that areas across Mexico and Southern Texas saw reduced cloud, leading to 120-130% of average September irradiance.
Fossil-intensive utilities plan to add 115 GW solar, 53 GW gas by 2030
In a renewables transition report card from the Sierra Club, only six utilities earned a grade of A, while 29 received an F. “Utilities are failing,” said the group’s executive director, “to protect our health and our collective future.”
Vermont utility announces emissions-free “zero outages” initiative
Green Mountain Power targets zero power outages by 2030, backed by a strong contribution from solar, wind, and energy storage linked in microgrids.
Growth of solar, wind cuts emissions in global electricity sector
Wind and solar are the only sources of electricity that have substantially increased in terms of generation and their share in the global energy mix, according to UK consultancy firm Ember.
Grid-forming inverters will enable a high-renewables grid
As renewable generation increases, so does the need for grid-forming inverters to provide the same functionality that rotating synchronous generators provide. The UNIFI Consortium is coordinating industry progress on the new inverter technology.
Novel thin-film anti-soiling coating increases solar module yield by over 3%
A group of scientists in the United States saw ‘encouraging’ results after testing the commercialization of novel coating materials in field tests, with the coating only increasing a panel’s total cost by 1.4%.
Mattiq developing iridium alternatives to solve constraint on green hydrogen
Iridium oxide catalysts are used in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers, a product that is being manufactured at larger scales in part to support the hydrogen industry.
