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Category: solar power – Page 9

Australia has made history with its very ambitious SunCable project, which promises to change the face of renewable energy around the globe. It entails the export of solar energy towards Singapore via a 4,300 km underwater cable, marking Australia’s transition to sustainable power from fossil fuels.

It is indeed very exciting development in renewable energy which is the SunCable project. At its heart is an intended most gigantic solar and battery park in the world, to be built near Tennant Creek in northern Australia, at an estimated cost of $35 billion.

This will supply green energy to Singapore, with the potential of contributing 6 GW towards 15% of its electricity needs, connected by the world’s longest underwater cable – a technological marvel six times the length of any existing cable.

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Increasing module efficiency and expanding manufacturing capacity play complementary roles in reducing costs of metal halide perovskite/silicon tandem solar modules, according to researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Each cost lever can play a similar role depending on a manufacturer’s ability to scale up and improve module performance.

Most photovoltaic (PV) modules manufactured today are based on single-junction . By pairing silicon with another such as metal halide perovskites (MHPs), thus creating a , manufacturers can create a solar module that can convert more sunlight to electricity than using silicon alone.

This tandem technology is still in the early stages, and there are multiple options being pursued to integrate MHPs and silicon, with a lot of unknowns in terms of cost and performance. To address this gap, the researchers built a manufacturing cost model that combines laboratory processes with existing equipment and supply chains to compare different possible approaches at scale.

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Dust storms on Mars could one day pose dangers to human astronauts, damaging equipment and burying solar panels. New research gets closer to predicting when extreme weather might erupt on the Red Planet.

Today’s weather report on Mars: Windy with a chance of catastrophic dust storms blotting out the sky.

In a new study, planetary scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have begun to unravel the factors that kick off major dust storms on Mars — weather events that sometimes engulf the entire planet in swirling grit. The team discovered that relatively warm and sunny days may help to trigger them.

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The great state of Wisconsin is about to get enough clean energy to power 200,000 homes, as the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has approved a new solar farm that will be the most powerful in the state, Electrek reported.

Vista Sands Solar Farm, which will be located on 8,500 acres of private farmland in Portage County that is being leased from its owners, is being developed by Doral Renewables LLC, a Philadelphia-based company.

The project is expected to take around two years to complete. It will cost $1 billion and generate around 500 jobs during construction and 50 permanent positions once the farm is open for business, per the company.

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The University of Liverpool has reported a significant advancement in engineering biology and clean energy. A team of researchers has developed an innovative light-driven hybrid nanoreactor that merges natural efficiency with cutting-edge synthetic precision to produce hydrogen—a clean and sustainable energy source.

Published in ACS Catalysis, the study demonstrates a pioneering approach to artificial photocatalysis, addressing a critical challenge in using solar energy for fuel production. While nature’s photosynthetic systems have evolved for optimal sunlight utilisation, artificial systems have struggled to achieve comparable performance.

The hybrid nanoreactor is the product of a novel integration of biological and synthetic materials. It combines recombinant α-carboxysome shells—natural microcompartments from bacteria—with a microporous organic semiconductor. These carboxysome shells protect sensitive hydrogenase enzymes, which are highly effective at producing hydrogen but prone to deactivation by oxygen. Encapsulating these enzymes ensures sustained activity and efficiency.

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The University of Liverpool has created a hybrid nanoreactor that uses sunlight to produce hydrogen efficiently, offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional photocatalysts.

The University of Liverpool has announced a major breakthrough in engineering biology and clean energy. Researchers have developed a groundbreaking light-powered hybrid nanoreactor that combines the natural efficiency of biological processes with the precision of synthetic design to produce hydrogen, a clean and renewable energy source.

Detailed in ACS Catalysis, the study introduces an innovative solution to a longstanding challenge in solar energy utilization for fuel production. While nature’s photosynthesis systems excel at harnessing sunlight, artificial systems have historically fallen short. This new approach to artificial photocatalysis represents a significant step forward in bridging that performance gap.

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The International Renewable Energy Agency says breakthroughs like this, along with others such as solar panels that work at night or China’s flywheel energy storage project, are key to cutting back on dirty energy use and creating stronger and more reliable power systems.

“Further international cooperation is vital to deliver fit-for-purpose grids, sufficient energy storage and faster electrification, which are integral to move clean energy transitions quickly and securely,” Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol said in an IEA report.

This new way of storing energy could deliver cleaner, more affordable energy to cities, businesses, and homes. Researchers at Rice University believe it could be widely available in five to 10 years, making renewable energy more practical and accessible.

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