24/7 heaven
It’s what Google calls its “biggest sustainability moonshot yet” – 24/7 hourly matching – a new granular phase of renewable energy sourcing. The pursuit of 24/7 moves beyond buying enough renewable energy to match annual consumption, to matching consumption every hour of every day. Some say 24/7 matching could push up the price of renewables, but others say 24/7 is the only way to drive home decarbonization, minimize greenwashing, and create a truly net-zero energy system.
pv magazine test
November 2020 results
Nickel’s problem with waste
For many of the newest lithium-ion batteries, reducing the amount of cobalt in the mix means increasing the share of nickel. But nickel comes with its own set of environmental concerns: Once it is extracted from the ground, the processing of nickel ores generates far more waste than it does usable material. And dealing with this waste is a growing problem for many producers.
Nickel and dime batteries to LFP
Lithium-iron phosphate batteries are making a comeback. Thanks to high nickel prices and limited feedstock supply, the EV industry is driving this change. There is no need to fret about the onset of slightly lower energy density, though, as this development has some benefits for the stationary storage market.
Polysilicon from Xinjiang: a balanced view
As of March, the United States and Europe were considering sanctions on polysilicon from Xinjiang, China, due to concerns over forced labor. The U.S. government has already barred entry for all cotton products and tomatoes from the region. However, as BloombergNEF analyst Jenny Chase writes, there is no evidence that forced labor is used in polysilicon production in Xinjiang – in fact, the economics might point against it.
Toward traceability
Supply chain auditing has long played an important role in the PV industry, ensuring contracted standards are met and quality is maintained in manufacturing. And with a growing movement calling for ethical and sustainable practices across the solar supply chain, the process could soon take on a new dimension. pv magazine examines the current role of supply chain audits in solar manufacturing, and their adaptability in ensuring that standards beyond product quality are upheld with equal importance.
Rethinking degradation
PV module making is a brutally competitive industry. And for Slovenian module maker Bisol, in business since 2004, one of the keys to success has been to remain focused on the value its products deliver to the customer. And as company founder and CEO Uroš Merc explains, in 2021 this means reimagining module degradation.
SNEC trends in 2021
All eyes are drawn to China every year for SNEC, the world’s biggest solar PV expo, as it invariably features a large number of new products from the key Chinese manufacturers. Vincent Shaw was on the scene in Shanghai this year and took the opportunity to take the industry’s pulse.
Supporting the corporate renewable electricity market
Corporate clean electricity purchases are finally taking off in many European markets, thanks to a number of renewable energy law reforms. Spain and Italy in particular are seeing growing numbers of transactions. However, is enough being done to support the corporate market? Hannah Hunt, impact director at RE-Source – a European alliance of stakeholders representing clean energy buyers and suppliers – looks at the forces driving change and asks which policy and regulatory reforms are critical to unlocking European corporate sourcing potential.
Rethinking solar sustainability
There’s more to solar sustainability than recycling, energy intensity, and materials, argues Jan Mastny, a PV industry veteran and the head of global sales, wind and solar, for Studer Cables AG. He argues for the notion of sustainability within PV to be radically expanded.
