Power Panel offers a PV and thermal storage solution that combines simple, safe and easy to manage hot water with advanced thermoplastic technology and architecture.

In its latest monthly column for pv magazine, SolarPower Europe describes which policy tools are expected to help Europe move at a faster pace in solar and renewable energy deployment. The European trade body discusses the upcoming support schemes, the transformation of the PPA market and the rise of green finance.

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.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Maria Sabella, CEO and founder of Italy-based Enlight Energy Services. She told as, in some cases, at the beginning of her working relationships, she felt some prejudgment from male colleagues, but she also aknowledged, that the initial reaction disappeared after the focus on the details of the activity to be performed increased.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that in March most European solar operators and grids saw less solar irradiance and production than normal, due to enhanced westerly winds bringing moist air off a relatively warm Atlantic ocean. Large areas of the continent saw irradiance down 10% to 25% below normal for March.

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released draft guidelines for the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana scheme, which aims to install rooftop solar plants in 10 million households, with subsidy support from the central government.

Renewables developer Vast Solar has signed a key engineering contract as it pushes toward construction of a 30 MW/288 MWh thermal concentrated solar power (CSP) plant with more than eight hours of energy storage capacity near Port Augusta, South Australia.

LevelTen Energy says in a new report that solar power purchase agreement (PPA) prices have remained stable in the United States, indicating greater stability after a period of market volatility.

Vale and Central South University have launched a joint laboratory for low-carbon and hydrogen metallurgy in Changsha, in China’s Hunan province, while Nippon Steel has secured approval to acquire U.S. Steel.

Huasun has signed two deals with Leascend Group, including a monocrystalline silicon wafer supply agreement, while GCL Technology has agreed to supply Longi Green Energy Technology with 425,000 tons of N-type granular silicon to the end of 2026.

Researchers in India have simulated a 4 kW solar power-based hybrid electric vehicle (EV) charging station using a three-stage charging strategy and found that the station is capable of charging 10–12 EVs with 48 V 30 Ah lithium-ion batteries.

The Croatian Energy Market Operator (HROTE) has announced a much-anticipated, €257.2 million ($273.5 million) round of renewable energy auctions. It has allocated the biggest quota of 450 MW for solar projects and has set a deadline to award the subsidies by year’s end.

Sud Renovables has installed a pilot vertical rooftop PV system on one of its facilities in Barcelona, Spain. The array features two 500 W bifacial modules from US-based SunPower and two microinverters from Enphase Energy.

The French authorities plan to launch a series of tenders to deploy PV systems along highways, starting this month.

EnergySage says market figures from the second half of 2023 show moderate declines in the cost of solar and energy storage.

Researchers in Spain claim to have recorded the highest power conversion efficiency result for a four-terminal tandem organic cell to date. The device is based on an ultrathin transparent silver electrode.

A Saudi research group has assessed how polymeric coatings, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), could be used for radiative cooling in photovoltaic panels and has found that both materials could reduce the operating PV module temperature by between 1.15 C and 1.35 C.

Europe’s solar boom is hiding its waste through exports, according to a new study. Instead of recycling, as expected under European regulations, vast amounts of solar panel waste are exported, undermining sustainability goals. The researchers suggest a digitized value chain as a potential fix to work toward a circular economy.

France’s indoor organic PV specialist Dracula Technologies and Swiss-headquartered semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics demonstrated a battery-free illuminometer at the Embedded World trade fair in Germany last week.

Researchers in Taiwan have discovered that in polysilicon production the crucible angular speed affects the oxygen concentration near the crucible wall, which in turn affects the wafers’ mechanical and electrical properties. They simulated a Czochralski process for an ingot with a diameter of 200 mm diameter and a length of 700 mm.

Andries Wantenaar, solar analyst at Rethink Technology Research, tells pv magazine that high overcapacity levels in the polysilicon industry are exerting enormous pressure on prices for the entire supply chain. He says China hit 2.4 million tons of polysilicon production capacity at the end of 2023, and notes that the nation will end 2024 with 4 million tons of capacity if all announced production plans are realized.

Elin Energy says it has an agreement with key US distributors and will begin with 1 GW of annual PV module production, with plans to increase to 2 GW within 18 months.

An international research team has placed a neem oil tank on the back of solar modules for cooling purposes. The proposed solution reportedly improves PV panel performance by up to 17.8%.

Representatives from the European Solar Manufacturing Council, Ultra Low Carbon Solar Alliance, PVthin, and the Environmental Coalition on Standards have proposed changes to the carbon footprint accountability methodology, the use of green certificates, and the planned design of the Energy Label for PV products.

TU Delft researchers have proposed a new approach for solar cell manufacturing that implies gauging wafer thickness depending on the regions where the cells and modules will be deployed. They also suggested to adopt test conditions that are representative of the outdoor working condition of solar cells in an alternative to standard testing conditions.

Battery research is advancing to address issues in the lithium-ion development process and concerns about safety and aging. Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) tech, meanwhile, is in the starting blocks, but interoperability is the key hurdle to achieving mass market penetration.

Researchers in China have developed a photovoltaic cold storage system that is reportedly able to improve refrigeration capacity and ice storage rate. The system is said to ensure a stable cooling system operation for the refrigeration needs of agricultural products.

The German manufacturer said the new air-to-water systems are part of its Hybrox series. Their coefficient of performance is between 4.3 and 5.3 and their size ranges from 11 kW to 16 kW.

The mini-grid, expected to connect over 1,500 residents to electricity, is part of the company’s wider plans to install over 20 mini-grids in Benin, which will serve more than 30,000 people across 20 rural localities collectively, through a total 1.2 MW capacity.

In this edition of the Weekend Read, we turn to Egypt. The gigawatt-scale Benban project showcases the North African country’s solar potential, and premium prices for gas exports make the case for a more diverse energy mix. A nation with grand renewables targets – but slow installation rates – may finally be weaning itself off fossil fuel resources.