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Articles on Solar photovoltaics

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It’s more expensive to refuel a petrol vehicle than it is to charge an electric vehicle. GettyImages

Electric vehicles could add to carbon emissions and load shedding: but there’s a solution

South Africa’s well positioned to adopt electric vehicles but this isn’t a solution in itself because the vehicles would still depend on electricity generated from carbon-emitting coal power stations.
This, except printed directly onto your roof tiles. Cole Eaton Photography/Shutterstock

We can make roof tiles with built-in solar cells – now the challenge is to make them cheaper

Australia is in the midst of a solar energy boom, yet it is lagging behind other countries when it comes to ‘building-integrated photovoltaics’ - solar cells built into the very fabric of buildings.
These photovoltaics panels provide this village with energy now, but they could become obsolete when the main grid arrives. (Shutterstock)

The future of renewable infrastructure is uncertain without good planning

Small-scale renewable energy projects can power rural areas not connected to the main grid. But investors may hesitate if future electrification remains unpredictable.
Researchers talk to Bruny Islanders who have signed up to an experimental new method of managing energy. Chris Crerar

Tesla’s ‘virtual power plant’ might be second-best to real people power

Our energy system puts consumers more or less at the mercy of business and regulators. What if the future of energy meant putting the power back in the hands of households?
Dedicating a 31-kilowatt photovoltaic array at Rainshadow Community Charter High School, in Reno, Nevada. BlackRock Solar

The state of the US solar industry: 5 questions answered

What’s at stake as the Trump administration imposes trade sanctions on imported solar panels? A look at the US solar energy industry, which generates more than twice as many jobs as coal energy.
The price of new-build renewable energy is expected to fall significantly relative to new-build coal energy in coming years. AAP Image/Lucy Hughes Jones

Renewables will be cheaper than coal in the future. Here are the numbers

The price of renewable energy will fall significantly relative to new-build coal in coming decades, making an all-renewable electricity system more desirable, both economically and environmentally.
With rooftop solar installations soaring, utilities are nervous – for a few reasons. Greens MPs

Why rooftop solar is disruptive to utilities – and the grid

Electric utilities want to quash distributed solar because they don’t want the competition, right? Perhaps, but if you rely at all on the grid, you have a stake in this fight, too.

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