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China Three Gorges commissions 1 MW pilot PV plant with perovskite panels

China Three Gorges has commissioned a 1 MW pilot solar plant with perovskite panels near Ordos, in China's Inner Mongolia region. This marks the world's first commercial PV system to use perovskite tech and features 11,200 modules from an undisclosed manufacturer.
Heat Pumps

Up to 1,150 families sign up for UK heat pump scheme

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero says the latest round for its Boiler Upgrade Scheme – an initiative awarding GBP 7,500 ($9,500) to families in England and Wales to replace traditional boilers for heat pumps – “surged” with a th...
Energy Storage

California’s lithium reserves could power 375 million EV batteries, say researchers

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has prepared a report, funded by the US Department of Energy, to thoroughly quantify the amount of lithium in an underground reserve in the Salton Sea, California.
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Além da geração solar distribuída: soluções integradas de energia para o cliente final

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Achieving domestic content tax incentives with solar trackers

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The value of standard module formats in the n-type era

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Markets & Policy

The Hydrogen Stream: Rolls-Royce opts for SAF, not hydrogen in large aircraft

Rolls-Royce has told pv magazine that it prefers sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) for large commercial flights, but it continues to invest in hydrogen for mid-size aircraft in partnership with easyJet.
Markets & Policy

India’s Bluebird Solar announces 2 GW module capacity expansion plan

Delhi-based Bluebird Solar, which currently operates 400 MW of annual panel manufacturing capacity, says it will ramp up capacity to 1.2 GW by March 2024 and to 2 GW by March 2025.
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Installations

Hybridizing anaerobic digestion with photovoltaic-thermal energy

Scientists in Spain have proposed to combine anaerobic digestion plants with photovoltaic-thermal panels and have found that this combination may achieve an LCOE of $0.045/kWh across several locations in Europe and North America.
Energy Storage

EDF, Scatec Africa win South Africa’s battery procurement auction

The South African Government’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced French utility Électricité de France (EDF) will develop 257 MW of battery energy-storage systems across three projects, while South African renewable energy company S...
Energy Storage

Toshiba develops lithium-ion battery prototype for high-voltage applications

Toshiba has developed a 1.5 Ah lithium-ion battery prototype with a voltage of more than 3 V. The device retains its initial efficiency for over 6,000 charge/discharge cycles and enables rapid charging to 80% of capacity within just five minutes.

Press Releases

RECOM Technologies and 18 times World Champion Michalis Zambidis join forces for a more sustainable future

RECOM Technologies and Greek kickboxer Michalis Zambidis (Iron Mike) collaborate, contributing to a more sustainable future through the installation of photovoltaic systems.

UAE and Kazakhstan sign landmark agreements to develop 1GW of renewables capacity

The governments of the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Kazakhstan today signed an agreement outlining a commitment to co-operation in the development of Kazakhstan’s renewables sector, including through the development of a large-scale wind power project with a 1GW capacity.

Masdar and EDF Sign Major Agreement with Government of the Kyrgyz Republic to Develop up to 3.6GW of Hydropower and Renewable Projects

Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse, and EDF have signed an agreement with the Ministry of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic to explore the development of hydropower and renewable projects with a combined capacity of up to 3. 6 gigawatts (GW).

AIKO and Solfinity sign distribution agreement for the Polish market

AIKO has signed an agreement with Solfinity, a leading Polish distributor of photovoltaics and energy storage systems, for the supply of innovative, high-performance ABC (All Back Contact) modules to the Polish and European markets. Solfinity is the first official distributor of AIKO in Poland.

Opinion & Analysis

Featured

European Solar production a mixed bag in November due to Baltic Low Pressure, Storm Ciarán

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Ireland, the west coast of Great Britain, Northern Italy, and the rest of Eastern Europe saw 10-30% above average November irradiance while other areas saw lower or close to average irradiance than normal.

M10 solar cell prices dive to new record low

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.

Renewable energy has MIBEL recording lowest Euro prices in the final week of November

Strong solar and wind meant MIBEL recorded the lowest energy prices compared to the other major European markets in the final week of November, according to data collected by Aleasoft Energy Forecasting.

Casting the net for solar recruits

Solar-industry companies need to forget ideas about office-based roles and look far afield to source the recruits necessary for the energy transition – and then they need to keep them loyal by offering a rewarding career.

U.S. solar has less thanks to give, as El Niño pattern develops

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that, in November, weather patterns have started to resemble the characteristic El Niño signature, with low pressure in the northwest Pacific, and an enhanced subtropical jet stream spreading from the Pacific across the southern United States.

Solar wafer prices marginally rise, supported by currency exchange rate

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.

Markets & Policy

Featured

Daikin unveils series of residential air-to-air heat pumps

Daikin has released a line of residential air-to-air heat pumps, using difluoromethane (R32) as the refrigerant, with outdoor unit dimensions of 662 mm x 442 mm x 1022 mm. The output ranges from 2.5 kW to 3.5 kW, and the seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) is between 4.85 and 5.17.

Australian utility tests nickel-hydrogen battery

Australian energy giant AGL will install a nickel-hydrogen battery at its Torrens Island power station site in South Australia as it explores the potential opportunities that the technology could provide for stationary energy storage applications

China’s renewable energy capacity tops 1.4 TW

China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) says the nation’s renewables capacity includes 420 GW of hydropower, 404 GW of wind power, 536 GW of PV, and 44 GW of biomass.

Scientists unveil tool to calculate feed-in, net metering tariffs in residential PV linked to storage

Developed by researchers in China, the novel calculator uses current and voltage sensors, a Raspberry Pi, and an algorithm for fuzzy logic to determine variations in frequency and demand. The tool sends Email notifications with the tariff values to the PV system owners.

Acciona set to start working on 380 MW solar farm in Australia

Construction of the 380 MW Aldoga Solar Farm near Gladstone, Australia, is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2024. Energy generated at the facility will power the largest green hydrogen project in the state of Queensland.

California rooftop solar installations drop 80% following new net metering rules

Over 17,000 layoffs have occurred, representing 22% of the industry. More job losses are expected.

Installations

Featured

Solitek launches solar carport for residential, commercial applications

Lithuania-based Solitek has launched a carport product line featuring 370 W glass-glass frameless modules. It is designed to withstand a snow load of up to 2.5 kN/m2 and 27m/s of wind loads.

Swiss consortium switches on 325 kW vertical PV system on retaining wall

K2 Systems and Solarmotion deployed the vertical array on a retaining wall along a car road in the Swiss canton of Appenzell Ausserhoden. The system utilizes 756 glass-glass modules and is operating under Switzerland’s feed-in tariff program.

Chinese PV Industry Brief: Tongwei, Canadian Solar announce new factories

Tongwei is planning a cell and module factory in the Sichuan province, while Canadian Solar is setting up a new wafer factory in the Jiangsu province.

Spanish gas provider tests hydrogen-powered residential water heater tech

Madrileña Red de Gas is testing a heating system prototype developed by Germany company Vaillant that uses exclusively green hydrogen. The 25 kW system is equivalent in shape and size to a current natural gas heating system.

CIP pushes ahead with 480 MWh battery project in Australia

Danish investment group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has tapped Canadian PV and battery manufacturing heavyweight Canadian Solar to provide energy storage solutions for the first of several large-scale battery projects it has planned for Australia.

India’s SECI launches tender for 1 GW of renewables, storage

Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) has started accepting bids from developers to supply 1.5 GW of renewable energy with storage systems.

Technology

Featured

Day-ahead forecasting for commercial PV with battery storage

A research group in South Africa has developed a novel method for PV output forecasting in commercial buildings. The proposed approach is purportedly able to accurately forecast the output power of a PV plant using real-time weather data.

Weekend Read: Connecting HJT

The application of busbarless cell interconnection approaches could unlock the potential of heterojunction (HJT) technology, primarily by reducing the historically high silver usage of negatively-doped, “n-type” cell technology. As HJT manufacturing increases, a wave of applications may very well be on the horizon.

CATL: Staying on top of the battery game

For the seventh year in the row, China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) looks set to claim the title of the world’s biggest battery maker. There are a number of reasons why it continues to maintain its lead in the electric vehicle (EV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) markets..

LeTID minimal issue for gallium-doped Czochralski silicon PERC products

Scientists from Trina Solar, Longi, Fraunhofer ISE, and other entities have looked at light and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) in gallium-doped Czochralski silicon (Cz-Si:Ga) PERC cells. They have found little relevant degradation.

EnerVenue offers pre-assembled nickel-hydrogen battery vessels

The stationary energy storage solution includes nickel-hydrogen batteries, the battery management system and cabling.

Photovoltaics for marine wildlife telemetry devices

A US research team has tested mini solar modules in marine data collection devices, using animal hosts for water column profile measurements. The findings suggest that submarine PV can effectively operate in these applications at depths of up to 22 meters.

Manufacturing

Featured

Brazil’s solar capacity hits 34.9 GW, surpassing wind in national energy mix

Solar, at 34.9 GW of installed capacity, now accounts for 15.8% of Brazil's energy mix, ranking second after hydroelectric plants at 49%, but ahead of wind power at 12.2%, according to the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar).

Emissions, aerosols negatively affect PV productivity, say Australian engineers

A study by engineers at Australia’s University of New South Wales (UNSW) shows that aerosols and greenhouse gas emissions reduce the productivity of PV installations, with variations across regions.

Thousands of Irish schools to hit the books for solar

Up to 1,600 schools in Ireland can apply from today to receive 6 kW of solar systems to be installed on their rooftops through a federally funded scheme, the Irish government recently announced.

Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells have practical efficiency potential of 39.5%

Researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE have provided guidelines for future research on perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells by identifying the most significant loss mechanisms at the perovskite/ETL interface, in the series resistance, and in light management.

Solar irradiance modeling method for east-west oriented vertical PV

A Finnish-Norwegian research group has investigated model chains for horizontal-to-vertical solar irradiance conversion in east-west oriented vertical PV systems located at high latitudes. They have found that accuracy and bias of the model chains are different for the east and west sides of solar array.

Hanwha Qcells shuts down 3.5 GW solar factory in South Korea

Hanwha Qcells has closed its 3.5 GW solar factory in South Korea as part of plans to optimize its PV module production capabilities amid a stagnant domestic solar market.

Energy Storage

Battery prices down 14% this year, says BloombergNEF

BloombergNEF says it has recorded a 14% decline in battery prices this year, mainly due to cheaper raw materials, following an unprecedented rise in 2022.

Danish developer plans massive renewables-storage-hydrogen project in Mauritania

GreenGo, a Danish developer, has unveiled plans for the Megaton Moon project in Mauritania. It will purportedly feature 60 GW of visible-from-space wind-solar capacity and 30 GW of green hydrogen capacity.

Greece accepts 288 MW of applications in second storage tender

Greece’s energy regulator has published a call for the country’s second energy storage tender to take place in February 2024.

Industry pushes for ‘agricentricity’ at Agrivoltaics2023

At the Agrivoltaics2023 conference in France this week, companies such as solar developers and mounting system suppliers called for a more central role for agriculture, amid ongoing legislative and commercial developments. However, uncertainties remain over the next steps European countries might take to drive such initiatives.

LG launches residential air-to-water propane heat pump

The new product utlizes propane refrigerant with a lower global warming potential and has a seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) of over 5. According to the manufacturer, it can achieve a flow temperature of 75 C and 100% heating output at outside temperatures of -15 C.

The Hydrogen Stream: Brazil reveals $3.6 billion hydrogen production plan

Brazil has announced a $3.6 billion hydrogen production plan, Adnoc has launched a green hydrogen refueling-station pilot in the United Arab Emirates, and the European Union has moved forward on the establishment of EU-wide hydrogen rules.

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