Higher price of electric cars a concern for more than half of UK consumers

Thermoradiative Diode Power leverages infrared radiation and night-sky cooling to harvest waste heat. Using MCT (mercury cadmium telluride) detectors with photovoltaics, it extends renewable energy generation after sunset, exploiting radiative cooling and low-power density.

Key Points

Technology using MCT infrared diodes to turn radiative Earth-to-space heat loss into electricity, aiding solar at night.

✅ MCT diodes radiate to cold sky, generating tiny current at 20 C

✅ Complements photovoltaics by harvesting post-sunset infrared flux

✅ Potential up to one-tenth solar output with further efficiency gains

Conventional solar technology soaks up rays of incoming sunlight to bump out a voltage. Strange as it seems, some materials are capable of running in reverse, producing power as they radiate heat back into the cold night sky environment.

A team of engineers in Australia has now demonstrated the theory in action, using the kind of technology commonly found in night-vision goggles to generate power, while other research explores electricity from thin air concepts under ambient humidity.

So far, the prototype only generates a small amount of power, and is probably unlikely to become a competitive source of renewable power on its own – but coupled with existing photovoltaics technology and thermal energy into electricity approaches, it could harness the small amount of energy provided by solar cells cooling after a long, hot day's work.

"Photovoltaics, the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity, is an artificial process that humans have developed in order to convert the solar energy into power," says Phoebe Pearce, a physicist from the University of New South Wales.

"In that sense, the thermoradiative process is similar; we are diverting energy flowing in the infrared from a warm Earth into the cold Universe."

By setting atoms in any material jiggling with heat, you're forcing their electrons to generate low-energy ripples of electromagnetic radiation in the form of infrared light, a principle also explored with carbon nanotube energy harvesters in ambient conditions.

As lackluster as this electron-shimmy might be, it still has the potential to kick off a slow current of electricity. All that's needed is a one-way electron traffic signal called a diode.

Made of the right combination of elements, a diode can shuffle electrons down the street as it slowly loses its heat to a cooler environment.

In this case, the diode is made of mercury cadmium telluride (MCT). Already used in devices that detect infrared light, MCT's ability to absorb mid-and long-range infrared light and turn it into a current is well understood.

What hasn't been entirely clear is how this particular trick might be used efficiently as an actual power source.

Warmed to around 20 degrees Celsius (nearly 70 degrees Fahrenheit), one of the tested MCT photovoltaic detectors generated a power density of 2.26 milliwatts per square meter.

Granted, it's not exactly enough to boil a jug of water for your morning coffee. You'd probably need enough MCT panels to cover a few city blocks for that small task.

But that's not really the point, either, given it's still very early days in the field, and there's potential for the technology to develop significantly further in the future.

"Right now, the demonstration we have with the thermoradiative diode is relatively very low power. One of the challenges was actually detecting it," says the study's lead researcher, Ned Ekins-Daukes.

"But the theory says it is possible for this technology to ultimately produce about 1/10th of the power of a solar cell."

At those kinds of efficiencies, it might be worth the effort weaving MCT diodes into more typical photovoltaic networks alongside thin-film waste heat solutions so that they continue to top up batteries long after the Sun sets.

To be clear, the idea of using the planet's cooling as a source of low-energy radiation is one engineers have been entertaining for a while now. Different methods have seen different results, all with their own costs and benefits, with low-cost heat-to-electricity materials also advancing in parallel.

Yet by testing the limits of each and fine-tuning their abilities to soak up more of the infrared bandwidth, we can come up with a suite of technologies and thermoelectric materials capable of wringing every drop of power out of just about any kind of waste heat.

"Down the line, this technology could potentially harvest that energy and remove the need for batteries in certain devices – or help to recharge them," says Ekins-Daukes.

"That isn't something where conventional solar power would necessarily be a viable option."

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UK Grid Connection Fast-Track would let the Energy Secretary instruct network operators and National Grid ESO to accelerate substation upgrades and transmission links for Tata's gigafactory, electric arc furnaces, and ready-to-build renewable projects.

Key Points

A UK plan letting the energy secretary fast-track grid connections via priority substation and transmission upgrades.

✅ Prioritizes substations and lines for strategic projects

✅ Supports Tata gigafactory and electric arc furnace conversions

✅ Complements Ofgem queue reforms and National Grid ESO changes

The UK energy secretary could be handed powers to fast-track connecting electricity-hungry projects, such as Jaguar Land Rover’s owner Tata’s planned electric battery factory, to the grid, under plans being discussed between government and regulators as part of the government’s green industrial revolution strategy.

Amid concerns about supply delays of up to 15 years in hooking up large schemes, the Guardian understands the move would allow Claire Coutinho to request that energy network companies accelerate upgrades to substations and power lines to connect specific new developments.

It is understood that the government and the regulator Ofgem have told National Grid’s electricity systems operator that they are “minded” to adopt its grid reform proposals to change the model for connections, which now moves at a pace set by each network operator.

A source said: “Foreign investors need assurances that, if these things are going to be built, then they can be hooked up quickly. There are physical assets, like substations and cross-Channel cables that transmission companies will need to build or upgrade.”

The government is belatedly attempting to tackle a logjam that has resulted in some developments facing a 10- to 15-year wait for a connection to the grid. Ofgem announced on Monday plans to remove “zombie” projects from the queue to connect up to speed up those ready to produce renewable power for the grid, with wind leading the power mix.

Although no equivalent queue exists for those looking to take power from the grid, ministers and officials are concerned that large projects could struggle to secure final investment and proceed without guarantees over their connection to the electricity supply.

Sources said changes to the rules had been proposed with several big projects in mind: Tata’s new £4bn electric battery factory, expected to be built in Somerset; and the switch to electric arc furnaces at Britain’s biggest steelworks at Port Talbot in south Wales, also owned by the Indian group.

The £1.25bn plan from British Steel, which is owned by China’s Jingye, to replace two blast furnaces at Scunthorpe steelworks, with an electric arc furnace at the north Lincolnshire plant and another at a site in Teesside, North Yorkshire, has also formed part of the proposals. Negotiations over the closure of blast furnaces at Port Talbot and Scunthorpe are expected to lead to thousands of job losses.

All three projects are likely to involve significant investment from the UK government, where a state-owned generation firm has been touted as a cost-saving option, alongside the companies’ overseas owners.

Britain has 10 distribution network operators, including National Grid and Northern Powergrid, which operate monopolies in their regions and handle transmission of power from the grid to end users.

Sources said the move could be announced as soon as this month, and may be included within the “connections action plan”, a broader overhaul of Britain’s network connections.

The plan, which is expected to be announced alongside the chancellor’s autumn statement next week, will rebalance the planning system to help speed up the connection of new solar and windfarms to the grid, as the biggest offshore windfarm begins UK supply this week.

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Maxeon IBC Solar Factory USA will scale clean energy with high-efficiency interdigitated back contact panels, DOE-backed manufacturing in Albuquerque, utility-scale supply, domestic production, 3 GW capacity, reduced imports, carbon-free electricity leadership.

Key Points

DOE-backed Albuquerque plant making high-efficiency IBC panels, 3 GW yearly, for utility-scale, domestic solar supply.

✅ 3 GW annual capacity; up to 8 million panels produced

✅ IBC cell efficiency up to 24.7% for utility-scale projects

✅ Reduces U.S. reliance on imported panels via domestic manufacturing

Solar energy stands as a formidable source of carbon-free electricity, with the No. 3 renewable source in the U.S. offering a clean alternative to traditional power generation methods reliant on polluting fuels. Advancements in solar technology continue to emerge, with a U.S.-based company poised to spearhead progress from a cutting-edge factory in New Mexico.

Maxeon, initially hailing from Silicon Valley in the 1980s, recently ventured into independence after separating from its parent company, SunPower, in 2020. Over the past few years, Maxeon has been manufacturing solar panels in Mexico, Malaysia, and the Philippines, as record U.S. panel shipments underscored rising demand.

Now, with backing from the U.S. Department of Energy's Loans Programs Office, Maxeon is preparing to commence construction on a new facility in Albuquerque in 2024, amid unprecedented growth in solar and storage nationwide. This state-of-the-art factory aims to produce up to 8 million panels annually, featuring the company's interdigitated back contact (IBC) technology, which has the capacity to generate three gigawatts of power each year. Notably, the entire U.S. solar industry completed five gigawatts of panels in 2022, making Maxeon's endeavor particularly ambitious and aligned with Biden's proposed tenfold increase in solar power goals.

Maxeon's presence in the United States holds the potential to reduce the country's reliance on imported panels, particularly from China. The primary focus will be on providing this advanced technology for utility departments, where pairing with increasingly affordable batteries can enhance grid reliability while shifting away from residential and commercial rooftops.

Maxeon has achieved a remarkable milestone in solar efficiency, with its latest IBC technology boasting an efficiency rating of 24.7%, as reported by PV Magazine.

This strategic move to the United States could be a game-changer, not only for Maxeon's success but also for clean power generation in a nation that has traditionally depended on external sources for its supply of solar panels, as energy-hungry Europe turns to U.S. solar equipment makers for solutions. Matt Dawson, Maxeon's Chief Technology Officer, emphasized the importance of achieving the lowest levelized cost of electricity with the lowest overall capital, a feat that China has accomplished in recent years due to the strength of its supply chain. As energy independence becomes a global concern, solar manufacturing is poised to expand beyond China, with Southeast Asia already showing signs of growth, and now the United States and possibly Europe, including Germany's solar boost during the energy crisis, following suit.

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US Solar Power 2050 Target projects 45% electricity from solar, advancing decarbonization with clean energy, wind, nuclear, hydropower, hydrogen, and scalable energy storage, while modernizing the grid and transmission to cut emissions and create jobs.

Key Points

A goal for solar to supply ~45% of US electricity by 2050, backed by energy storage and other low-carbon generation.

✅ Requires 1,050-1,570 GW solar and matching storage capacity

✅ Utility-scale buildout uses ~10M acres; rooftop 10-20% of capacity

✅ Complemented by wind, nuclear, hydropower, hydrogen, and flexible turbines

President Joe Biden has called for major clean energy investments as a way to curb climate change and generate jobs. On Sept. 8, 2021, the White House released a report produced by the U.S. Department of Energy that found that solar power could generate up to 45% of the U.S. electricity supply by 2050, compared to less than 4% today, with about 3% in 2020 noted by industry observers. The Conversation asked Joshua D. Rhodes, an energy technology and policy researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, what it would take to meet this target.

Why such a heavy focus on solar power? Doesn’t a low-carbon future require many types of clean energy, even though wind and solar could meet about 80% of demand according to some research?
The Energy Department’s Solar Futures Study lays out three future pathways for the U.S. grid: business as usual; decarbonization, meaning a massive shift to low-carbon and carbon-free energy sources; and decarbonization with economy-wide electrification of activities that are powered now by fossil fuels.

It concludes that the latter two scenarios would require approximately 1,050-1,570 gigawatts of solar power, which would meet about 44%-45% of expected electricity demand in 2050, even as renewables approach one-fourth of U.S. generation in the near term. For perspective, one gigawatt of generating capacity is equivalent to about 3.1 million solar panels or 364 large-scale wind turbines.

The rest would come mostly from a mix of other low- or zero-carbon sources, including wind, nuclear, hydropower, biopower, geothermal and combustion turbines run on zero-carbon synthetic fuels such as hydrogen. Energy storage capacity – systems such as large installations of high-capacity batteries – would also expand at roughly the same rate as solar, with record growth in solar and storage anticipated by industry in coming years.

One advantage solar power has over many other low-carbon technologies is that most of the U.S. has lots of sunshine. Wind, hydropower and geothermal resources aren’t so evenly distributed: There are large zones where these resources are poor or nonexistent.

Relying more heavily on region-specific technologies would mean developing them extremely densely where they are most abundant. It also would require building more high-voltage transmission lines to move that energy over long distances, which could increase costs and draw opposition from landowners – a key reason the grid isn't yet 100% renewable according to experts – in many regions.

Is generating 45% of U.S. electricity from solar power by 2050 feasible?
I think it would be technically possible but not easy. It would require an accelerated and sustained deployment far larger than what the U.S. has achieved so far, even as the cost of solar panels has fallen dramatically, and wind, solar and batteries are 82% of the utility-scale pipeline across the country. Some regions have attained this rate of growth, albeit from low starting points and usually not for long periods.

The Solar Futures Study estimates that producing 45% of the nation’s electricity from solar power by 2050 would require deploying about 1,600 gigawatts of solar generation. That’s a 1,450% increase from the 103 gigawatts that are installed in the U.S. today, even as wind and solar trend toward 30% of U.S. electricity in some outlooks. For perspective, there are currently about 1,200 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity of all types on the U.S. power grid.

The report assumes that 10%-20% of this new solar capacity would be deployed on homes and businesses. The rest would be large utility-scale deployments, mostly solar panels, plus some large-scale solar thermal systems that use mirrors to reflect the sun to a central tower.

Assuming that utility-scale solar power requires roughly 8 acres per megawatt, this expansion would require approximately 10.2 million to 11.5 million acres. That’s an area roughly as big as Massachusetts and New Jersey combined, although it’s less than 0.5% of total U.S. land mass.

I think goals like these are worth setting, but are good to reevaluate over time to make sure they represent the most prudent path.

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Scotland Green Recovery Strategy centers on renewable energy, onshore wind, energy efficiency, battery storage, hydrogen, and electric vehicles, alongside public transport and digital infrastructure, local manufacturing, and grid flexibility to decarbonize industry and communities.

Key Points

A plan to cut emissions by scaling renewables, efficiency, storage, and infrastructure for resilient, low-carbon growth.

✅ Prioritize energy efficiency retrofits in homes and workplaces

✅ Invest in battery storage, hydrogen, and EV charging networks

✅ Support local manufacturing and circular economy supply chains

THE “green recovery” joins the growing list of Covid-era political maxims, while green energy investment could drive recovery, suggesting a bright and environmentally sustainable post-pandemic future lies ahead.

The Prime Minister once again alluded to it recently when he expressed his ambition to see the UK become the “world leader in clean wind energy”. In his typically bombastic style, Boris Johnson declared that everything from our kettles to electric vehicles, with offshore wind energy central to that vision, will be powered by “breezes that blow around these islands” by the next decade.

These comments create a misleading impression about how we can achieve a green recovery, particularly as Covid-19 hit renewables and exposed systemic challenges. While wind turbines have a key role to play, they are just one part of a comprehensive solution requiring a far more in-depth focus on how and why we use energy. We must concentrate our efforts and resources on reducing our overall consumption and increasing energy capture.

This includes making significant energy efficiency improvements to the buildings where we live and work and grasping the lessons of lockdown, including proposals for a fossil fuel lockdown to accelerate climate action, to ensure we operate in a more effective and less environmentally-damaging fashion. Do we really want to return to a world where people commute daily half way across the country for work or fly to New York for a two-hour meeting?

Businesses will need to adapt to new ways of operating outwith the traditional nine-to-five working week to reduce congestion and pollution levels. To make this possible requires Government investment in critical areas such as public transport and digital infrastructure, alongside more pylons to strengthen the grid, across all parts of Scotland to decentralise the economy and enable more people to live and work outside the main cities.

A Government-supported green recovery must rest on making it financially viable for businesses to manufacture here to reduce our reliance on imported goods. This includes processing recycleable materials here rather than shipping them abroad. It also means using locally generated energy to support local jobs and industry. We miss a trick if Scotland simply becomes a power generator for the rest of the UK.

MOVING transport from fossil fuels to renewable fuels will require a step-change that also requires support across all levels. The increased use of electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells are all encouraging developments, but these will rely on investment in infrastructure throughout the country if we’re to achieve significant benefits to our environment and our economy.

This brings us to the role of onshore wind power; still the cheapest form of renewable energy, and a sector marked by wind growth despite Covid-19 around the world today. Repowering existing sites with newer and more efficient turbines will certainly increase capacity rapidly, but we must also invest into development projects that will further enhance the capacity and efficiency of existing equipment. This includes improving on the current practice of the National Grid paying operators to switch off wind turbines when excess electricity is produced and instead developing new and innovative means to capture this energy. Government-primed investment into battery storage could help ensure we achieve and further reduce our reliance on traditional, non-sustainable sources.

We need a level playing field so that all forms of energy are judged on their lifetime cost in terms of emissions as well as construction and decommissioning costs to ensure fiscal incentives are applied on a fairer basis.

Turning the maxim of a green recovery into reality will require more than extra wind turbines, and the UK's wind lessons underscore the importance of policy and scale. We need a significant investment and commitment from business and government to limit existing emissions and ensure we capture and use energy more efficiently.

Andy Drane is projects partner and head of renewables at law firm Davidson Chalmers Stewart.

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U.S. Solar Panel Shipments 2021 surged to 28.8 million kW of PV modules, tracking utility-scale and small-scale capacity additions, driven by imports from Asia, resilient demand, supply chain constraints, and declining prices.

Key Points

Record 28.8M kW PV modules shipped in 2021; 80% imports; growth in utility- and small-scale capacity with lower prices.

✅ 28.8M kW shipped, up from 21.8M kW in 2020 (record capacity)

✅ 80% of PV module shipments were imports, mainly from Asia

✅ Utility-scale +13.2 GW; small-scale +5.4 GW; residential led

U.S. shipments of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules (solar panels) rose to a record electricity-generating capacity of 28.8 million peak kilowatts (kW) in 2021, from 21.8 million peak kW in 2020, based on data from our Annual Photovoltaic Module Shipments Report. Continued demand for U.S. solar capacity drove this increase in solar panel shipments in 2021, as solar's share of U.S. electricity continued to rise.

U.S. solar panel shipments include imports, exports, and domestically produced and shipped panels. In 2021, about 80% of U.S. solar panel module shipments were imports, primarily from Asia, even as a proposed tenfold increase in solar aims to reshape the U.S. electricity system.

U.S. solar panel shipments closely track domestic solar capacity additions; differences between the two usually result from the lag time between shipment and installation, and long-term projections for solar's generation share provide additional context. We categorize solar capacity additions as either utility-scale (facilities with one megawatt of capacity or more) or small-scale (largely residential solar installations).

The United States added 13.2 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar capacity in 2021, an annual record and 25% more than the 10.6 GW added in 2020, according to our Annual Electric Generator Report. Additions of utility-scale solar capacity reached a record high, reflecting strong growth in solar and storage despite project delays, supply chain constraints, and volatile pricing.

Small-scale solar capacity installations in the United States increased by 5.4 GW in 2021, up 23% from 2020 (4.4 GW), as solar PV and wind power continued to grow amid favorable government plans. Most of the small-scale solar capacity added in 2021 was installed on homes. Residential installations totaled more than 3.9 GW in 2021, compared with 2.9 GW in 2020.

The cost of solar panels has declined significantly since 2010. The average value (a proxy for price) of panel shipments has decreased from $1.96 per peak kW in 2010 to $0.34 per peak kW in 2021, as solar became the third-largest renewable source and markets scaled. Despite supply chain constraints and higher material costs in 2021, the average value of solar panels decreased 11% from 2020.

In 2021, the top five destination states for U.S. solar panel shipments were:

California (5.09 million peak kW)
Texas (4.31 million peak kW)
Florida (1.80 million peak kW)
Georgia (1.15 million peak kW)
Illinois (1.12 million peak kW)
These five states accounted for 46% of all U.S. shipments, and 2023 utility-scale project pipelines point to continued growth.

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