The war in Ukraine continues to disrupt the global energy sector and, combined with the recent heatwaves affecting Europe, the need to restructure economies is starker than ever. Luckily, there are some countries that have kept working on their energy transition reforms and taking tangible actions towards tackling climate change. Uzbekistan is one of them.

High temperatures can affect different components of PV systems. Inverters can fail, the efficiency of solar modules can decline, and existing cell damage can become worse. However, investors, planners, and operators can adjust to heat waves in a number of different ways.

On June 27, the Guidelines for The Design, Construction and Operation of Agrovoltaic Plants were published in Italy by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, in coordination with the Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics (CREA), Gestore dei Servizi Energetici S.p.A. (GSE), the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), and Research on the Energy System S.p.A. (RSE). From now on, developers and, in general, RES plant owners will have to consider the principles herein outlined, to have their plants classified as agrovoltaic.

For centuries, cultures in Europe have marked their calendars to celebrate Midsummer and the Summer Solstice. Traditionally a time to enjoy bright evenings, and the light and hope of the sun, the Summer Solstice falls on June 21. On the longest day of sunlight in 2022, Europe has much to hope for. After difficult pandemic years, enduring cost of living and energy price hikes, and the on-going, unprovoked, Russian war on Ukraine, Midsummer gives us a small moment to reflect on, and hope for, brighter times ahead.

The throes of a lithium shortage are increasingly upending long-term supply strategies and stoking demand for alternative technologies for stationary energy storage projects. Once seen as synonymous with renewable batteries, stationary Li-ion faces strong headwinds due to rapidly accelerating demand from the automotive sector as EVs capture the mainstream.

It should come as no surprise that clean energy spending is a big chunk of Warsaw’s four-year EU grant and loans package, given that the nation’s grid-connected solar capacity rose from 3.99 GW at the end of 2020 to 6.3 GW four months ago, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The clean power numbers published annually by the International Renewable Energy Agency provide a snapshot of the global solar market and, this year, a lot of figures were unchanged from the previous dataset, especially in the off-grid segment.

Covid-19 has left Shunfeng International’s accountants unable to publish its official 2021 numbers on time, but its estimated figures announced a net current liability of almost $155 million and a “capital deficiency” of near $140 million.

Polysilicon maker Xinte is forging ahead with a huge expansion strategy just as solar developers at the opposite end of the industry continue to bleed cash.

Lack of locally-denominated finance, and of sufficiently long-term loans, are well established hurdles to the development of photovoltaics in Africa.

Solar industry leaders weigh in on Senate passage of the IRA, the bill that carries $370 billion in energy security and climate spending.

BASF has signed virtual power purchase agreements for 250 MW of solar and wind power in the United States.

India is expected to install 20 GW of new solar capacity in 2022, according to JMK Research.

Researchers from Deakin University in Victoria have announced a breakthrough in the development of new polymer electrolyte chemistries that they believe could pave the way for a safer and cheaper alternative to current lithium-ion battery energy storage technologies.

As two US grid operators have flagged a shortage of qualified engineers to conduct interconnection studies, pv magazine USA recently spoke with Kalyan Chilukuri, vice president of Electric Power Engineers, about industry staffing challenges and measures that might help.

Huawei Digital Power Technologies, a unit of Chinese multinational tech giant Huawei, recently signed a deal with Ghana-based solar developer Meinergy Technology to build a 1 GW solar plant coupled with 500 MWh of storage in Ghana over the next years. Under the terms of the deal, Huawei will supply solar-plus-storage systems for the project. Meinergy will be responsible for the development and construction of the facility. pv magazine recently spoke about the project with Kevin Wu, CEO of Meinergy, and Peter Acheampong, Deputy Director of Renewables for the Bui Power Authority, which owns the installation.

Indian researchers claim that commercial buildings with LED lighting could gain energy independence by installing standalone solar-plus-storage systems. They said a 914.4 kW PV system linked to lithium-ion batteries could be enough to power an entire building with an estimated annual demand of 190,830.7 kWh.

A new study shows that hydrogen could be produced for as little as AUD 2.85 ($1.98) per kilogram, supporting Frontier Energy’s plans to make green hydrogen from a 500 MW solar project it is developing in Western Australia.

Terabase Energy has raised $44 million in a recent funding round to support digital and robotic platforms for the development of utility-scale solar power plants.

The Indian government’s PM KUSUM Scheme supports farmers in installing standalone solar pumps and solarizing existing grid-connected agriculture pumps.

Scientists in Japan have developed a novel metal-organic, framework-based magnesium ion conductor with superionic conductivity, even at room temperature.

New research from Stanford University researcher Mark Jacobson outlines how 145 countries could meet 100% of their business-as-usual energy needs with wind, water, solar and energy storage. The study finds that in all the countries considered, lower-cost energy and other benefits mean the required investment for transition is paid off within six years. The study also estimates that worldwide, such a transition would create 28 million more jobs than it lost.

Scientists in Australia have demonstrated a new way to apply a passivating contact layer to silicon cells. They produced an n-type cell with aluminum-titanium passivating contact and 21.9% efficiency, and claimed the technique could open up new possibilities for the use of transition metal oxides in cell passivation.

Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the United States have developed a special class of materials for bulky calcium ions, providing pathways for their facile insertion into battery electrodes.

Engineering, procurement and construction companies must take special steps to ensure that PV plants operate reliably and efficiently. Japan’s ORIX Renewable Energy Management (OREM) is one such company. pv magazine recently caught up with Executive Vice President Kazuhisa Yurita to discuss the current challenges of O&M.

Daqo posted record revenue of CNY 16.3 billion ($2.3 billion) in the first six months of 2022, while Datang Group announced plans to build 5.58 GW of PV plants in China this year.

Scientists in Australia have looked at how gettering technologies could improve passivating contacts based on polysilicon and silicon monoxide (SiOx) for tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cells. They found that the gettering strength of the P-doped poly mainly depends on the doping concentration.

Iranian scientists have demonstrated a multi-layer silicon nanoparticle (SNP) solar cell based on nanoparticles that are densely stacked inside a dielectric medium. They considered different SNP structures and configurations to tailor these particles as a p–n junction cell.

Scientists in Bangladesh have investigated the potential of agrivoltaics in rice fields. They analyzed the economic viability of bifacial agrivoltaic projects in Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Brazil, and India.

Japanese scientists have built a chalcopyrite PV device for tandem solar cells and water splitting for hydrogen generation. The device has a power conversion efficiency of 11.05%, an open-circuit voltage of 0.960 V, a short-circuit current density of 15.9 mA cm−2, and a fill factor of 72.4%.

Seven German companies have agreed to put 27 Hyundai heavy-duty fuel cell trucks into fleet service in the coming months. American Airlines has revealed an investment in ZeroAvia, while New Fortress Energy has invested in a 120 MW industrial-scale plant in Texas.

Mitsubishi Power Americas and Magnum Development are set to begin construction on a 300 GWh underground storage facility in the US state of Utah. It will consist of two caverns with capacities of 150 GWh, to store hydrogen generated by an adjacent 840 MW hydrogen-capable gas turbine combined cycle power plant.

New research from Ireland shows that electrification could lead to more efficient utilization of renewable energy and the national transmission network.

South African utility Eskom has selected contractors for 343 MW of battery storage projects to be deployed in remote locations with limited access to distribution networks, but in proximity to large-scale renewables.

Wood Mackenzie said it expects the United States and China to represent 75% of global energy storage demand in a highly consolidated market.