Scientia Professor Martin Green | The ‘father of photovoltaics’

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Mike — No Comments ↓

Scientia Professor Martin Green, the inventor of PERC solar cells also known as the ‘father of photovoltaics’, has been awarded the Global Energy Prize for his research; the first Australian to win the prestigious award.

Scientia Professor Martin Green | The ‘father of photovoltaics’

Scientia Professor Martin Green is also known as the ‘father of photovoltaics’. In 2014 he was the head of the team who were able to crack the 40% barrier for energy efficiency conversion, and we wrote last year about his victory to win the prestigious Global Energy Prize worth more than $820,000. According to the UNSW website, his research group is the largest and best-known university-based photovoltaic research group in the world.

As the inventor of the PERC solar cells, (Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell) Professor Green has a very impressive pedigree with regards to his solar research and knowledge. His official title is Director of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics at UNSW – and he focused on inventing the widely used PERC solar cells.

“The PERC cells pioneered by UNSW now reflect 50% of world production. During that time, we’ve seen solar move from expensive energy to inexpensive energy. Our work on PERC has driven that.” Professor Green said.

A report on the UNSW website notes the large amount of PERC solar cells being sold is increasing year-on-year, and gave us some statistics on the future of these cells:

“PERC solar cells are now becoming a commercial standard throughout the world, with sales exceeding US$10 billion in 2017 and predicted to exceed US$1 trillion by 2040. Their use is predicted to save at least $750 million in power production costs in Australia alone over the next decade.” the article states.

UNSW and solar power have been synonymous over the past few years as they roll out such as a $29.2m grant for solar cell research,

Professor Green will be speaking at the Research Excellence Summit: Asia-Pacific at UNSW Sydney on 19-21 February.

UNSW’s Martin Green wins Global Energy Prize

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Mike — No Comments ↓

Sydney professor Martin Green from UNSW has beaten out Tesla Musk to win the $820,000 Global Energy Prize for his work in the field of photovoltaics. Green will share the prize with Russian scientist Sergey Alekseenko, who is an expert in the field of thermal power engineering.

Martin Green and the Global Energy Prize

Martin Green of UNSW (source: Wikipedia)

Professor Green is Director of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics at UNSW. According to the ABC he’s a leading specialist in both mono and polycrystalline ilicone sole cells, having invented the PERC solar cell (PERC cells represent just under a quarter of the world’s silicon cell manufacturing capacity (as of end of 2017)).

We’ve written plenty of articles about UNSW solar – they’re involved in general solar power research, have launched the SunSPoT solar potential tool, and they have also recently signed a 15-year corporate PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) with Maoneng Australia and Origin Energy to become 100% solar powered, thanks to Maoneng‘s Sunraysia solar plant.

In 1989, Professor Green and his team were responsible for the solar cells in the first photovoltaic system. In 2014 he was able to double 1989’s energy conversion efficiency of 20% to 40%.

UNSW President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Jacobs told the ABC that Professor Green had “delivered truly transformational outcomes in renewable energy for more than three decades”.

“Martin is a highly deserving recipient of this global prize and we warmly congratulate him,” he said.

“His fundamental and applied research has transformed the global energy sector and will continue to produce major economic and social benefits, both in Australia and worldwide.” Professor Jacobs continued.

Professor Green said receiving the award was “a great honour”.

“The efficiency of solar modules is an area whose progress has been faster than many experts expected, and this is good news,” he said.

“We need to maintain the pace of research in Australia, not only to keep our international lead, but also to benefit society by providing a cheap, low carbon source of electricity.”

This is a fantastic reward for one of Australia’s solar stalwarts and we salute Professor Green for his ongoing work with solar power technology.

UNSW Solar – uni to go fully solar powered

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Mike — No Comments ↓

UNSW Solar has taken another huge step forward – the University of New South Wales has signed a 15-year corporate PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) with Maoneng Australia and Origin Energy to become 100% solar powered, thanks to Maoneng‘s Sunraysia solar plant.

UNSW Solar

The Sunraysia solar farm, which will be Australia’s biggest solar farm, is planned to commence construction in April or May of this year, at a cost of $275 million. It will generate at least 530,000 megawatt hours of electricity each year, of which UNSW will purchase 124,000 – almost a quarter. They signed an agreement on December 14, 2017, which will run for 15 years. A three year ‘retail firming’ contract was also signed with Origin, as the electricity retailer. This will help manage intermittency of solar production.

UNSW president and vice chancellor Ian Jacobs discussed the partnership with Fairfax, advising that it would comprise a key part of making UNSW’s entire operation energy carbon neutral by 2020.

“Over the past six months, UNSW has collaborated with our contract partners Maoneng and Origin, to develop a Solar PPA model that leads the way in renewable energy procurement and reflects our commitment to global impact outlined in our 2025 strategy,” he said.

Mr Jacobs wouldn’t provide specifics on pricing, but did note that it will be helpful to UNSW in a financial sense:

“It’s a highly competitive agreement financially,” he said.

“The Solar PPA arrangement will allow UNSW to secure carbon emission-free electricity supplies at a cost which is economically and environmentally attractive when compared to fossil fuel-sourced supplies.”

Energy Action, a company who assisted during the tender by with energy market analysis, noted that the PPA would help UNSW have greater clarity on their future electricity spends and not be as vulnerable to electricity price fluctuations:

“This agreement provides UNSW with a direct line of sight over the source of renewables supply, reduced emissions, and greater certainty around prices over the next 15 years,” Energy Action chief executive Ivan Slavich said.

Kelly Davies, Senior Consultant at Norton Rose Fulbright, was quoted on the university press release as saying: “UNSW is a true leader of innovation. The PPA market has been extremely dynamic in the last 12 months and deals like UNSW’s have been critical in driving real change in the way universities and other users procure energy.”

UNSW have also been the recipient of a few solar grants from ARENA over the past years so the idea of them using renewable energy to research and upgrade renewable energy is certainly a palatable one and it’s amazing to see so much energy from the Sunraysia Solar Plant already accounted for!

Vale Stuart Wenham, Australian solar engineer

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Mike — No Comments ↓

Some sad news on Saturday as a leading pioneer of solar technology in Australia, Professor Stuart Wenham, died of malignant melanoma. Professor Wenham’s myriad advancements in the field of solar cell and panel technology helped us advance efficiency and decrease cost by a significant amount and he leaves behind an impressive legacy in the field of solar research in not only Australia, but the world.

Stuart Wenham’s Legacy

Professor Stuart Wenham of UNSW (source: newsroom.unsw.edu.au)

Professor Wenham invented advanced “hydrogenation hydrogen passivation” technology – a process which used lasers to modify hydrogen atoms in the silicon wafers used in conventional solar panels. This pioneering solar technology increased solar panel efficiency and also cut their production cost.

Professor Wenham was the director of the Centre of Excellence for Advanced Photovoltaics and Photonics at the University of NSW. In 2013 he won the British Institution of Engineering and Technology‘s A.F. Harvey Engineering Prize and technology pioneered by Professor Wenham is used by Samsung, BP Solar, and two of the world’s largest producers of silicon, Golden Concord and Xi’an LONGi Silicon Materials.

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted photovoltaics researcher Martin Green, who Wenham worked with and studied under during his earlier years, as saying he was a “wonderful and very positive person”.

“He was also a brilliant and creative researcher, able to see patterns in results that eluded most of us, and new ways of capitalising on these,” Professor Green said.

“He made huge contributions to the recent emergence of solar as the cheapest option for bulk electricity supply.”

We recently reported on a $7.83m grant ARENA awarded Professor Wenham’s team at UNSW to continue their groundbreaking research on solar technology, which we’re sure they’ll put to great use to continue his legacy and keep increasing efficiency and decreasing production cost.

There will be a memorial held for Professor Wenham on January 8 at the Sir John Clancy Auditorium at UNSW.

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Scientia Professor Martin Green | The ‘father of photovoltaics’