A Singaporean company has introduced a device for "rejuvenation" of solar panels

EtaVolt startup has developed a device that can partially regenerate solar panels and reduce their degradation.

The new method involves applying intense light and controlled temperature on solar cells to excite polysilicon molecules and make them move quickly.

It is reported that the process takes less than five minutes and helps to restore up to 5% of the lost productivity, which in turn can increase the service life by 5 years

#solar | Читать на русском

​​Assessment of global energy in the past year according to the analytical agency GlobalData

Renewable energy sources have shown strong growth this year. Electricity generation from the sun and wind for the year amounted to 1,699 terawatt hours (TWh) and 2,253 TWh, respectively.

The COP28 climate Summit held in Dubai sent a clear signal that the era of fossil fuels is fast approaching its end, promising to triple renewable capacity by 2030.

In 2023, 1,434 energy sector deals were announced for a total of $258.64 billion. Most of the transactions were in the solar and wind direction.

The energy industry continues its growth trajectory, accounting for about 3% of jobs. However, this is still less than competitors such as oil and gas, which accounted for 6.5% of jobs.

Most of the world's largest power plant owners are based in the United States, where 22 of the 100 largest companies are headquartered, followed by China with 14 and Russia with 7.

The largest company is China Huaneng Group (CHNG), which had a capacity of 151.19 GW in July 2023. It is followed by Electricite de France (EDF) with 118.73 GW and Korea Electric Power with 93.16 GW.

CHNG has 110.8 GW of thermal power (from coal, gas and oil), EDF dominates the nuclear arena (with 67.96 GW). Australian Era Energy has unexpectedly become a leader in the field of solar and wind energy

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How much did the world's largest wind energy players lose in 2023

This year has been a year of achievements and disappointments for many. By betting on the height and power of wind turbines, manufacturers have lost economically.

Earlier this year, the Danish company launched the Vestas V236-15 wind turbine with a height of 280 m and a capacity of 15 MW, in the middle of the year the Chinese completed work on their MySE 16.0-242 with a height of 264 m and a capacity of 16 MW, and an 18-megawatt turbine is expected to be launched soon.

The losses of companies in 2023 have been calculated:

??German Siemens Gamesa - $56.92 billion;

??American General Electric - $5.47 billion;

??International Nordex - $1.48 billion;

??Danish Vestas does not expect a loss, but lost $1.73 billion in 2022.

There is a proposal to stop this "race", make turbines cheaper and more efficient, and limit the height to 300 m

#wind | Читать на русском

The American company Cyrusher has launched one of the world's first electric snowboards into mass production

In addition to the obvious advantages, this device has some disadvantages:

1⃣ It is unlikely to be allowed in most ski resorts because of the attachments.

2⃣ A mandatory accessory to it is a backpack with a battery, like those who like portable tape recorders from the eighties.

The snowboard is supplied with a 3 kW motor that can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h. The estimated range is 15-20 km, the recharge time is several hours

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A group of scientists from China has created thermoregulating solar-powered clothing

A team of engineers, materials scientists and chemists from Nankai University, China, has developed a microfiber-based metal fabric that provides thermoregulation throughout the day, with organic photovoltaic modules.

According to the researchers, clothes keep warm when it's cold, and can also help people keep cool in hot temperatures. It is able to maintain a skin temperature of 32-36°C when the ambient temperature varies from 12.5 to 37.6°C

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​​The first nuclear reactor in the 21st century is being built in England

On Friday, a steel dome was installed on the 44-meter concrete reactor building. Weather conditions allowed for a delicate maneuver and the work was completed in an hour and a half. The assembly was carried out by the world's largest land crane, nicknamed "Big Carl". The lifting capacity of the crane is 5,000 tons within a radius of 40 meters.

The new Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant is being built by the French state energy generating company and the world's largest nuclear power plant operator Electricite de France (EDF). The total capacity of the two-reactor plant should be 3.2 GW.

As you might guess, the construction faced a number of problems. The dome over the first reactor was planned to be installed by the end of 2022. And the expected cost of nuclear power plants has increased from £18 to £32.7 billion. The launch of the first reactor is scheduled for June 2027, and the second one a year later.

The UK currently has nine operational nuclear reactors at five sites, many of which are nearing the end of their operation

#nuclear | Читать на русском

Siemens has printed metal blades of steam turbines on a 3D printer

He is the first to print large parts designed to generate energy in power plants.

Wire-arc technology was used to manufacture the turbine. And the manufacturing process of the part was reduced from 8 months (at low tide) to 2 weeks (including post-printing processing).

Another key advantage of 3D printing is that it eliminates the company's dependence on production tools that it does not control

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The laying of another 525 kV HVDC submarine cable has been announced

According to National Grid, the project is one of the largest in recent decades and is the first of six planned underwater links between Scotland and England.

A high-voltage DC cable will connect two converter stations and provide power transmission of 2 GW.

The project is currently nearing completion, construction work is scheduled to begin in 2024, and the new connection is expected to be operational in 2029

#HVDC | Читать на русском

​​In California, the USA has discovered a large source of lithium

As you know, the United States is a world leader not only in terms of installed nuclear power plant capacity, but also geothermal energy. And more recently, it turned out that geothermal brines, which are a by-product, have high concentrations of minerals such as lithium and zinc.

It is claimed that the discovered resources of California alone may contain more than 3,400 kilotons of lithium. This is enough to support more than 375 million batteries for electric vehicles, which is more than the total number of vehicles currently on U.S. roads.

Lithium is currently one of the most important natural resources in the world. Australia is the world's largest supplier, with mining in the form of hard rocks, while Argentina, Chile and China lead the way in lithium production from salt lakes.

The use of direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines will not only speed up the processing process from 18 months to 2 days, but also significantly reduce water consumption for these purposes

#battery | Читать на русском