This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu Network) takes a significant step by shedding light on health and safety issues for women in the solar and energy storage industry, a crucial topic that gained even more relevance after the observance of World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28th.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that April’s weather in Europe presented a north-south divide impacting solar generation across the continent. High pressure systems over the Mediterranean meant sunnier than normal conditions in Southern Europe, benefitting PV output.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

If solar-powered irrigation pumps can be rolled out in a responsible manner at scale, the impact on agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa could be transformational.

As the world becomes increasingly roiled by extreme weather, drone-based electroluminescence (EL) mapping can be a key weapon in the arsenal of solar investors.

Greece’s solar sector is thriving, with 1.59 GW of new capacity last year, and installations are projected to reach the same level this year. Curtailment is the sector’s thorniest issue, however.

SolarDuck and Tokyu Land have installed a floating solar demonstration unit in Japan. This project is billed as the nation’s first offshore floating solar power plant on the surface of the ocean and will be used to power electric vehicles and boats.

Sinovoltaics has released its latest energy storage manufacturers ranking report, based on balance sheet assessments and publicly available financial information. It lists US-based Tesla as number one, followed by South Korean’s LG Energy Solution, Taiwan-based Kung Long Battery, China’s Mustang Battery, along with US-based Solid Power in the top five.

A new report prepared under the Indo-German Technical Cooperation on Innovative Solar provides a comprehensive overview of floating solar potential in India. It also provides projections for installations from 2024 to 2040.

The competition regulator in the Netherlands says that the grid fees that big energy suppliers are applying to PV system owners are legitimate. Solar customers currently pay between €100 ($107) and €697, depending on the system size.

Researchers in Japan have analyzed the warming effect of photovoltaic system on land surface temperature around the Kushida River Basin for ten years and have found this value increased by an average of 2.85 C.

Amea Power has started the construction of a 120 MW solar plant in northeastern Tunisia. Once operational, the plant is expected to generate 222 GWh of clean energy per year.

Engie and UAC Berhad have signed a 20-year solar power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 7.35 MW solar array in Malaysia.

UK scientists have proposed a way to combine photovoltaic-thermal energy with Stirling engines and battery storage in residential buildings. Despite the high upfront costs, they said the cost-effective hybrid co-generation system could significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

Despite this growth, fossil fuels dominate U.S. electricity. A 3% increase in total electricity generation across the U.S. is expected to be served primarily with solar, said a report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The solar modules are based on the record-breaking 25.32%-efficient 2D/3D perovskite solar cells that the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne unveiled in July 2023. The panel has an aperture area of 27.22 cm2, and were encapsulated by glass-glass encapsulation technology combined with an edge seal of the module under UV light illumination. 

Researchers from Chiktara University in India claim to have succeeded in improving the stability and performance of organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells by applying a strategy called bandgap grading. It consists of enabling the cell perovskite absorber to collect a wider range of light photons by modifying its thickness and characteristics. “Our study demonstrates the effectiveness […]

Infinite Mobility, a developer of solar-powered bikes for last mile delivery fleets and commuters, is shipping samples to potential distributors in Europe, a month ahead of series production.

The authorities in Ireland have opened a €20 million ($21.5 million) fund for energy research and innovation. It will support projects contributing to the nation’s clean energy transition, such as heat decarbonization and energy storage.

An Austrian research team has demonstrated lightweight, flexible and ultra-thin perovskite solar technology in palm-sized autonomous drones, showcasing the stability and energy-harvesting potential of the technology. The champion single junction cell in the study had an open-circuit voltage of 1.15 V and 20.1% efficiency.

The new MLPE from Tigo is designed to support commercial and industrial as well as utility-scale solar projects.

Researchers at the Wuhan University of Technology in China               The system was described in the paper “Performance analysis of radiative cooling combined with photovoltaic-driven thermoelectric cooling system in practical application,” published in Energy.

Spanish developer Solaria says it bought 435 MW of solar modules from an undisclosed supplier for €0.091 ($0.09)/W. Kiwa PI Berlin confirms that average solar module prices for large-scale PV projects in Spain are now around €0.10/W.

Researchers have designed a transparent conductive oxide film with different thicknesses and different Zr atomic concentrations. They have eventually also created proof-of-concept cells. The best sheet resistance was achieved with the thinnest film of 15 nm.

The Chinese module manufacturer said the new efficiency record was confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH).

BSES Rajdhani Power’s new 20 MW/ 40 MWh project is India’s first utility-scale, standalone battery energy storage system to secure regulatory approval under Section 63 of the Indian Electricity Act, 2003. The project is supported by a concessional loan from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP).

Modeling shows that shifting just one-third of the electricity consumption of commercial and institutional buildings in Australia to the middle of the day, coinciding with peak solar supply, would create almost 12 GW of new peak capacity in the National Electricity Market.

State-owned utility Egyptian Electricity Holding Company is requesting expressions of interest for the design, building and operation of a 8.2 MW solar plant and 2 MW/4MWh battery energy storage system, located at the site of an existing microgrid in western Egypt.

A new mobile power generator that combines solar and renewable hydrogen to provide zero-emissions power for remote and off-grid applications has been unveiled by Australian startup H2PowerBox.

A group of Chinese researchers has made a first attempt to integrate pumped hydro with compressed air storage and has found the latter may help the former to better deal with large head variations.