Sat.Jan 25, 2025 - Fri.Jan 31, 2025

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Hydrogen annealing approach sets new efficiency record for kesterite solar cells

TechXplore

Photovoltaics (PVs), devices that can convert sunlight into electrical power, are becoming increasingly widespread and more people worldwide are now relying on them to generate electricity. Renewable energy engineers worldwide are working to identify materials and processes that could help to further reduce the costs of solar technologies, while further boosting their power-conversion-efficiencies (PCEs).

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Cancellation of 120GWh PHES sees power price forecasts jump 60% in Queensland, Australia

Energy Storage News

The cancellation of the 5GW/120GWh Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Project in Queensland, Australia, has seen power price forecasts jump by over 60% for 2035.

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Report reveals shocking scale of litter problem in England

Envirotec Magazine

Over 90% of places surveyed across England blighted by litter, says Keep Britain Tidy Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy released a report on 29 January that appears to expose the alarming scale of Englands litter problem – or “crisis”, indeed – and its disproportionate impact on the nations most deprived communities. The report, drawing on a decade of on-the-ground research combined with public opinion data, unveils growing concern over the worsening impact of litte

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Two New Papers Reveal Startling Human Health Risks from Neonicotinoid Pesticides

NRDC onEarth

Data obtained from the EPA show that there are significant health risks associated with neonicotinoid pesticides, particularly for children and pregnant women.

Health 192
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How to Drive Cost Savings, Efficiency Gains, and Sustainability Wins with MES

Speaker: Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions

Is your manufacturing operation reaching its efficiency potential? A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) could be the game-changer, helping you reduce waste, cut costs, and lower your carbon footprint. Join Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions, in this value-packed webinar as he breaks down how MES can drive operational excellence and sustainability.

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New water splitting catalyst makes green hydrogen without expensive metals

TechXplore

ANEMEL researchers have created a catalyst for water splitting that's efficient and stable, without relying on scarce platinum group metals (PGMs). The study, recently published in Energy & Environmental Science, reports a high-performance PGM-free catalyst for the cathode in water electrolysis, responsible for the reaction that creates green hydrogen.

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NineDot closes US$65 million for 20 New York BESS projects

Energy Storage News

Energy storage developer NineDot has announced the closing of a US$65 million equipment financing supporting the purchase of up to 100MW/400MWh of batteries for use in up to 20 battery storage projects across New York City, New York, US.

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More Trending

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Reefer trailer refrigeration unit powered by solar, battery and regeneration

Charged

Powered semi-trailers, which carry batteries and electric motors to take some of the load of the tractor, are emerging as a cost-effective way to extend the range of an electric semi (or improve the fuel efficiency of a legacy tractor). Now a three-way partnership is testing a related conceptusing electricity to power the refrigeration unit in a reefer trailer.

Batteries 140
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11 years after a celebrated opening, massive solar plant faces a bleak future in the Mojave Desert

TechXplore

What was once the world's largest solar power plant of its type appears headed for closure just 11 years after opening, under pressure from cheaper green energy sources. Meanwhile, environmentalists continue to blame the Mojave Desert plant for killing thousands of birds and tortoises.

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California regulator issues battery storage safety proposal, begins Moss Landing fire investigation

Energy Storage News

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has issued a proposal to enhance the safety of battery energy storage facilities as its staff begin investigating the recent fire at Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility.

Batteries 269
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Balancing sustainability and noise in air source heat pumps

Envirotec Magazine

Acoustic enclosures help to trap the sound produced by the external unit, and are typically made from sound-absorbing materials such as timber. Hope Denton, Acoustic Solutions Specialist at Jacksons Fencing, writes The UK has set ambitious targets to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and one key technology in achieving this goal is air source heat pumps (ASHP).

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The Key to Sustainable Energy Optimization: A Data-Driven Approach for Manufacturing

Speaker: Kevin Kai Wong, President of Emergent Energy Solutions

In today's industrial landscape, the pursuit of sustainable energy optimization and decarbonization has become paramount. ♻️ Manufacturing corporations across the U.S. are facing the urgent need to align with decarbonization goals while enhancing efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, the lack of comprehensive energy data poses a significant challenge for manufacturing managers striving to meet their targets. 📊 Join us for a practical webinar hosted by Kevin Kai Wong of Emergent Ene

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Renewables break record for share of Australia’s main energy supply in December quarter, data reveals

The Guardian: Energy

Australian Energy Market Operator also reports coal-fired power plants contribution fell below 50% for the first time Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Renewable power reached a record share of Australias main electricity supply in the December 2024 quarter, with the contribution of coal-fired generation dipping below 50% for the first time, the Australian Energy Market Operator said.

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Chemical looping turns environmental waste into fuel

TechXplore

Turning environmental waste into useful chemical resources could solve many of the inevitable challenges of our growing amounts of discarded plastics, paper and food waste, according to new research.

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Early contracts signed for 12GWh pumped hydro site in Queensland, Australia

Energy Storage News

Engineering group Gamuda and infrastructure developer Ferrovial have been signed up in an early contractor involvement (ECI) deal for a 12GWh pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) project being developed in Queensland.

Energy 269
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Finally, an answer to why Earth’s oceans have been on a record-hot streak

Grist

Earths oceans caught a fever in March 2023 that has yet to break. Since then, the bathwater-like conditions have killed corals in a record-breaking mass bleaching event , fueled hurricanes , and collapsed entire fisheries. The two years of heat have created a scientific mystery , with 450 straight days of record high global sea surface temperatures from April 2023 to July 2024 a streak that exceeded climate scientists predictions even when accounting for climate change and the natural climate p

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Electrofuels Are the Future: The Driving Force to Decarbonizing Heavy Transport

Speaker: Ayesha Choudhury - Senior Vice President, Head of Capital Markets at Infinium

With the first wave of the energy transition, renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind) have begun replacing coal power generation. However, some sectors are lagging behind and struggling to decarbonize more than others, including large-scale transportation like commercial aviation, shipping, and rail transit. Electrofuels (aka eFuels) are the next generation of solutions to help the hardest-to-abate sectors pivot from their reliance on fossil fuels.

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Big batteries boost profits and charge past gas to become second biggest player in evening peaks

Renew Economy

The growth of big battery projects – fuelled by falling costs and growing needs – is one of the dominant features of the Australian green energy transition, and with each passing quarter their impact on the grid is becoming increasingly obvious. It has now emerged that big batteries have already become the second biggest player […] The post Big batteries boost profits and charge past gas to become second biggest player in evening peaks appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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Integrated modeling approach decodes solid-state battery microstructures for better performance

TechXplore

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a novel, integrated modeling approach to identify and improve key interface and microstructural features in complex materials typically used for advanced batteries. The work helped unravel the relationship between material microstructure and key properties and better predict how those properties affect battery operation, paving the way for more efficient all-solid-state battery design.

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Tesla deployed 31GWh of storage in 2024, segment benefited from US$756 million tax credits

Energy Storage News

Tesla has reported record quarterly and full-year deployment figures for its Megapack and Powerwall battery storage products in its latest financial results. The Texas, US-headquartered electric vehicle (EV), storage and solar manufacturer announced its Q4 and full-year 2024 earnings this week (29 January). It deployed 11GWh of energy storage in the fourth quarter, and 31.

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Piezoelectric promise: Study explores hydraulic energy harvesting during water treatment

Envirotec Magazine

Under hydraulic pressure, piezoelectric current pulses and the interface electric field generate ROS and dielectrophoretic forces (Fdep), contributing to the degradation and repulsion of diverse pollutants. Dielectrophoretic forces, Fdep, describe the motion force of particles due to the action of a nonuniform electric field on the particles induced dipole (image credit: Qiancheng Xia et al).

Energy 130
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AR/VR Simulations for Sustainable, Regenerative, Circular Cities

Speaker: Nik Gowing, Brenda Laurel, Sheridan Tatsuno, Archie Kasnet, and Bruce Armstrong Taylor

With 191 country signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement now hard at work in the race to zero carbon by 2050, much of the heavy lifting in ecosystem sustainability falls on the shoulders of the world's densely populated urban centers. This conversation considers how today's AI-enabled simulation media, such as AR/VR, can be effectively applied to accelerate learning, understanding, training, and solutions-modeling to sustainability planning and design.

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Renewables thrive as grid demand soars, and coal states suffer from repeated outages

Renew Economy

Underlying demand and renewable output hit record levels in December quarter, but repeated fossil fuel failures and lack of transmission cause high prices in coal dependent states. The post Renewables thrive as grid demand soars, and coal states suffer from repeated outages appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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Aging reactors: For the first time, researchers verify the effect of radiation on concrete expansion

TechXplore

It's been known for some time that radiation impacts the structural integrity of concrete. However, until now the details of this were unknown. Researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, can finally demonstrate what properties of concrete affect its structural characteristics under different neutron radiation loads.

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GB battery storage activity in December and January

Energy Storage News

We round up the last two months of BESS action in the GB (Great Britain) market, including project approvals, construction and applications, taken from the pages of our sister site Solar Power Portal.

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Suburb-wide electrification trials to be rolled out across Australia in bid to fuel transition away from gas

The Guardian: Energy

Project providing subsidies to install solar batteries and electric appliances part of Labor deal with crossbenchers Suburb-wide electrification trials are set to be rolled out across the country under an intervention designed to help spark the household transition from gas. The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has formally directed the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) to consider funding more pilots like Electrify 2515, a community-led initiative to electrify 500 homes

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How Digital Transformation will Bend the Curve of the Linear Economy Toward the Circular

Speaker: Bruce Armstrong Taylor, Co-Founder & Managing Director of SmartNations Foundation, Jimmy Jia, Venture Partner at Pi Labs, Fabienne Durand, Senior Advisor to the SmartNations Foundation, & Roger Strukhoff, Executive Director of the Tau Institute

The Climate 4.0 Economy. Climate change is here. We see it in many ways already. Weather catastrophes: Texas freezing over, the wildfires of California, the increasingly unpredictable violence and frequency of hurricanes, the rapid melting and disappearance of polar ice caps. Much more evidence all around us. What can we do in our corporate organizations, in our homes and communities, to change the current course?

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Battery and solar connection bids surge, as more than 10 GW of new capacity joins the grid

Renew Economy

Scale of battery and solar projects seeking grid connection soars, and capacity of new projects actually working through registration and commissioning has also more than doubled. The post Battery and solar connection bids surge, as more than 10 GW of new capacity joins the grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Batteries 145
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New method for sustainable lithium extraction could reduce emissions by 75%

TechXplore

With an electric current and hydrogen peroxide, researchers at Penn State have developed a more efficient way to extract lithium, a key component in the batteries used in electric vehicles and portable electric devices, directly from ore found in the common mineral spodumene. The process could facilitate a 35.6% reduction in cost and a 75.3% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to traditional, less sustainable extraction methods, according to the team led by Feifei Shi, assistant professor of ene

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Year in Review: ‘Consistent, reliable operation,’ the true measure of BESS value, says FlexGen 

Energy Storage News

Kelcy Pegler, CEO at US energy storage system integrator FlexGen, takes part in our Year in Review Q&A series.

Energy 207
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Helion raises $425M to help build a fusion reactor for Microsoft

TechCrunch: Climate

Helion's unorthodox approach to fusion power and relative secrecy has earned it plenty of fans and critics. But dont count its investors among the naysayers. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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Renewable records surge across the grid in midst of latest heatwave

Renew Economy

Wind and solar set new output records in NSW and across the main grid amid the latest heatwaves to sweep the eastern states. The post Renewable records surge across the grid in midst of latest heatwave appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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Optical fiber sensor provides simple, sensitive detection of arsenic in drinking water

TechXplore

Researchers have developed a new optical sensor that provides a simple way to achieve real-time detection of extremely low levels of arsenic in water. The technology could enable household testing for arsenic, empowering individuals to monitor their own water quality.

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SES AI and AISPEX partner to provide 100MWh BESS at Texas crypto mining site

Energy Storage News

Lithium-metal battery developer SES AI Corporation has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with retail energy provider AISPEX to provide up to 100MWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) at a crypto mining site in Texas, US.

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Ice-repelling secrets of polar bear fur

Envirotec Magazine

Image credit: Arctic Wolf , CC BY-ND 2.0 license. Polar bear furs natural ability to resist ice formation could pave the way for safer, more sustainable solutions to prevent ice buildup across industries such as aviation and renewable energy, according to researchers at the University of Surrey. A study published in Science Advances has explored the anti-icing properties of polar bear fur in extreme Arctic conditions, revealing a seemingly unique mix of lipids in the furs sebum an oily substanc

Aviation 130
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Rio Tinto says wind and solar make economic sense, but LNP stands in way of its plans to save smelters

Renew Economy

Rio Tinto boss says renewables are essential for the future of its assets. But the new Queensland LNP state government may stand in its way. The post Rio Tinto says wind and solar make economic sense, but LNP stands in way of its plans to save smelters appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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China built out record amount of wind and solar power in 2024

TechXplore

China raced ahead building renewable energy last year, installing more wind and solar power than ever before and continuing to leave all other countries in the dust.