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Solarstone opens 60 MW BIPV module factory in Estonia

Solarstone, an Estonian producer of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar roofs, has opened a 60 MW manufacturing facility in Viljandi, Estonia, to produce a broader range of design and performance specifications.
Markets & Policy

Iberdrola completes Spain’s first hybrid wind-solar plant

Iberdrola has finished building Spain's first hybrid wind-solar project, featuring a 74 MW solar plant and a 69 MW wind farm.
Installations

France allocates 1.5 GW in ground mounted PV tender

The French government has awarded 129 projects an average price of €0.0824 ($0.0868)/kWh in its latest ground-mounted tender. This represents the largest capacity since the beginning of the tender series held by the French authorities.
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Markets & Policy

Ghana opens bidding for 35 minigrid, solar net-metering projects

Ghana’s Ministry of Energy is now welcoming applications for the design, supply and installation of 35 minigrid and solar PV net-metering projects to be located at a range of island and lakeside communities in the west African country.
Markets & Policy

Mondragon Assembly wins patent litigation case in China

Mondragon Assembly says it has won a patent dispute in China, marking its second successful case in the country in relation to its patented continuous string process.
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Energy Storage

Heat pump sector under threat by weak EU laws and ‘unfavorable’ prices

Brussels-based heat pump advocacy organization, the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), issued a stark warning today claiming that the industry is being largely impacted by inconsistent European laws and ‘unfavorable’ electricity to gas price rati...
Markets & Policy

Hydrostor strikes deal for compressed air energy storage facility in Australia

Hydrostor has signed a deal with miner Perilya to build a 200 MW/1,600 MWh advanced compressed air energy storage facility in a disused mine cavity in New South Wales, Australia.
Energy Storage

Lithium-ion batteries differ in terms of risk

As the energy storage trend unfolds, stories litter the media landscape about lithium-ion batteries catching fire, and even exploding. This is a valid concern, as the time for consumers to understand a basic truth about lithium-ion batteries is long past...

Press Releases

Yingli will supply 263MW of high efficiency modules for the Guillena Photovoltaic Cluster that belongs to TotalEnergies in Spain

Recently Yingli Solar has announced the supply of 263MW of solar modules for the 5 photovoltaic plants that TotalEnergies is building in the town of Guillena: Arbotante (52 MW), La Carrascosa (55MW), La Noria . (53MW), Pilastra (52MW) and Postigo (51MW).

Trina Solar’s sustainable technology drives green future

Module has to take the whole responsibility of stability and reliability, and existing technologies are the most sustainable and practical technologies to fight climate change, Dr. Pierre Verlinden, Chief Scientist of Trina Solar, said at the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition.

Plenitude inaugurates its first 50 MW photovoltaic plant in Kazakhstan

Plenitude (Eni) inaugurates today, with the attendance of the Governor of the Turkistan Region, Darkhan Satybaldy, the Ambassador of Italy to Kazakhstan, Marco Alberti and local authorities its first photovoltaic plant in the Republic of Kazakhstan, close to Shaulder village in the Turkistan Region.

JinkoSolar Provides Its SunGiga C&I ESS to Zhaoguang New Energy in Shandong

JinkoSolar has delivered a set of SunGiga liquid-cooling C&I ESS (JKS-215KLAA-100PLAA) to Zhaoguang New Energy to better manage its overall electricity expenses by charging the batteries during low-cost valley hours and discharging them during high-cost peak hours.

Opinion & Analysis

Featured

Solar wafer prices fall for first time in 3 months

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.

Higher wind production pushes down prices in European electricity markets

In the third week of September, European electricity markets prices fell compared to the previous week. The decline was due to lower demand and a significant increase in wind energy production in several markets, which offset increasing gas and CO2 prices. On September 25, TTF gas futures reached their highest level since early April and on September 18, Brent reached its highest settlement price since November 2022.

Conventional grids place power plants in the crosshairs

Warnings about the need to decentralize Ukraine’s electricity grid, made 10 years before the Russian invasion, fell on deaf ears at the time. In the wake of war, nations across Eastern and Central Europe are alive to the risks embodied in traditional energy networks.

Solar module price falling, with no end in sight

Solar module prices have never fallen so sharply in such a short period of time. One reason for this is the “PV module glut” in warehouses in Europe, according to pvXchange’s Martin Schachinger.

Seasonal solar patterns present opportunity in North Africa

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, explains that the climatology of Africa leads to very different seasonal generation patterns from what European solar producers experience. Data analysed by Solcast, via the Solcast API, shows this seasonal variance from summer to winter in 2023.

China solar cell prices hit record lows

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

Spanish railway operator builds 20 MW solar plant for train traction

Renfe says it will invest around €27 million ($28.4 million) to build a 20 MW pilot PV installation. It will be part of a broader project involving several PV installations along its rail network.

US set to install 66 GW of storage in 2023-27 period, says WoodMac

Wood Mackenzie says that US developers installed 1.7 GW/5.6 GWh of new storage capacity in the second quarter of 2023.

Self-interest key to maximizing rooftop solar installations

Researchers in Switzerland have found that the most effective way for governments to nudge homeowners into installing rooftop solar PV sytems hinges on individuals being told how much money they’ve lost by not getting it sooner.

SolarWatt launches TOPCon module production

SolarWatt has started production of TOPCon modules, with plans to manufacture both glass-glass and glass-backsheet versions. It says it aims to make its first shipments in January 2024.

Ireland allocates 497 MW of PV in third renewables auction

Ireland’s Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and network operator EirGrid has revealed the 20 solar projects totaling 497 MW that were provisionally selected in the latest auction round of the country’s onshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS). The procurement exercise concluded with an average strike price of €0.10047($0.10596)/kWh.

India’s Gautam Solar to expand PV module capacity to 2 GW

Gautam Solar says it will invest $18.1 million to double its annual PV module production capacity to 2 GW.

Installations

Featured

Powering bio-based earth homes with photovoltaics

Moroccan researchers have investigated the potential energy savings of PV systems integrated with biomaterial-based walls in rural areas. They say that solar-powered earth homes could achieve a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of $0.218/kWh.

Solar industry should focus on virtual power plants, says US official

Solar industry veteran Jigar Shah, the director of the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) Loan Programs Office, says that virtual power plants are the path to success, as solar net metering now faces an uncertain future.

SolarPower Europe predicts 1 million solar workers in EU by 2025

SolarPower Europe said in its latest report on EU solar jobs that the European solar industry employed 648,000 people at the end of 2022, up from 466,000 the year prior. It said the sector will reach 1 million full-time employees within three years.

Solar-linkable pico-hydro turbine system for commercial buildings

Scientists in Australia have proposed to use a a propeller pico-hydropower turbine to recover the energy used for pumping water in a solar-powered commercial building. They have found that the mini hydro system is a relatively low-cost solution, able to recover approximately 10% of the energy used for pumping seawater.

Scatec switches on 30 MW of PV linked to 20MW/19MWh of storage in Cameroon

Scatec has turned on two solar-plus-storage facilities in northern Cameroon, with 30 MW of solar and 20 MW/19 MWh of energy storage.

Fluke unveils high wattage, current-specific solar module I-V curve tracing hardware

Fluke aims to take the PVA-1500HE it acquired from Solmetric to the global market. It claims the new hardware will fill a gap in the worldwide market with a U.S.-preferred tool.

Technology

Featured

Solar geometry-based model to assess performance of bifacial PV systems

Scientists in India utilized solar geometry to create a novel energy estimation model that reportedly accurately predicts both the front and back irradiance of bifacial PV modules. The model achieved correlation coefficients of 1.04 and 1.40 for the front and rear side, respectively.

Low-temperature processes to reduce silver use in tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells

Researchers from Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE developed new techniques to reduce silver consumption in tandem perovskite silicon solar cells and heterojunction silicon PV devices. The new processes relate to cell metallization and module interconnection.

New perovskite solar cell design with silicon dioxide anti-reflector layer

Researchers in Iran have designed a new light trapping (LT) structure for perovskite solar cells that reportedly achieves optimal light absorption without impacting the electrical properties of the cells. The key element of the device is an anti-reflector layer based on silicon dioxide (SiO2) that improves light harvesting and charge extraction performance.

Carbon electrode perovskite solar cells on track to commercialization

Carbon electrode back-contacts for perovskite solar cells promise simpler, less energy-intense manufacturing, but low power conversion efficiency has held back adoption. However, this may change now, as researchers are overcoming the barriers to commercialization.

Australian firefighters contain blaze at Tesla battery facility in Queensland

A fire broke out this week in a Tesla Megapack 2.0 battery unit at the Bouldercombe battery facility in Queensland, Australia.

Indonesia’s largest floating solar plant to expand to 500 MW

Abu Dhabi-based Masdar and PLN Nusantara Power, an Indonesian state-owned electricity generator, have agreed to more than triple the size of the Cirata floating PV power plant in West Java so it can generate 500 MW.

Manufacturing

Featured

SolarSpace launches first phase of 5 GW solar factory in Laos

SolarSpace, a China-based PV cell and module manufacturer, announced the first phase of a 5GW high-efficiency solar cell plant in Laos, giving momentum to its overseas production capacity.

Chinese PV Industry Brief: TCL Zhonghuan, Longi lower wafer prices

This week, Longi and TCL Zhonghuan reduced slightly the prices of their wafer products. Meanwhile, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association reports strong ouput growth for the solar industry.

Vertical agrivoltaics to reduce PV curtailment, increase water efficiency

An international research group has analyzed a vertical bifacial agrivoltaics system in a drought-stricken part of Chile. They say that the solar array can improve water efficiency for crop irrigation, while the vertical system configuration optimizes PV power generation throughout the day, minimizing curtailment.

Huasun claims 23.96% efficiency, 744.4 W output for heterojunction solar panel

The Chinese manufacturer said TÜV SÜD confirmed the results. It launched the G12 series of heterojunction solar modules, with a focus on utility-scale projects, in the second half of 2022.

Phosphorus-arsenic nanoribbons may improve solar cell performance

UK researchers have developed ultra-thin nanoribbons, just 1 atom thick, by combining phosphorus and arsenic alloys. The nanoribbons offer excellent conductivity, even at temperatures exceeding -143.15 C, and have the potential to enhance charge flow in solar cells.

Sunmaxx builds 50 MW PV-thermal solar module factory in Germany

Sunmaxx PVT, a photovoltaic-thermal solar module specialist, has started building an automated 50 MW module factory near Dresden, Germany.

Energy Storage

The Hydrogen Stream: Germany expands global hydrogen alliances

Germany advanced its hydrogen ambitions this week with a fresh call for the International Green Hydrogen Promotion Program in Latin America, a collaborative deal with the UK government, and a tie-up between DHL and Sasol for sustainable aviation fuels based on green hydrogen (eSAF).

LG Energy Solution to offer lithium iron phosphate batteries in Europe

LG Energy Solution will soon release its lithium iron phosphate batteries in the European market, featuring compatibility with single-phase and three-phase inverters. The South Korean manufacturer will offer two configurations, with capacities of 12.4 kWh and 15.5 kWh.

Panasonic introduces half-cut HJT residential solar modules

Panasonic unveiled its new residential solar modules – including half-cut heterojunction (HJT) models, along with a home battery system and energy management device – at the recent RE+ trade show in Las Vegas.

Honeywell invests in US iron flow battery specialist ESS

Honeywell purchased $27.5 million in ESS common stock and intends to purchase $300 million in ESS product, with $15 million prepaid. The collaboration enables Honeywell to integrate ESS technology into its global offering, and ESS gains license to Honeywell’s flow battery intellectual property.

Assessing non-linear tradeoffs in photovoltaic mini-grids

Researchers in Sweden investigated the complex non-linear tradeoffs between capacity expansion costs and reliability levels of off-grid PV mini-grids and found that capacity expansion based solely on cost-minimization may result in several reliability issues.

Rinnai launches hot water heat pump for residential applications

The new heat pump can purportedly provide hot water at a temperature of up to 70 C. It is specifically designed for climatic conditions with temperatures ranging from -10 C to 42 C, as well as coastal locations.

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