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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.
Installations

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.
Energy Storage

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) ...
Announcements

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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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Energy Storage

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.
Markets & Policy

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.
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Markets & Policy

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.
Manufacturing

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.
Installations

Poland allocates 494 MW of solar in 2023 auctions

Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office has awarded 494 MW of solar in largely unsubscribed auctions this year. It allocated 123 MW for installations smaller than 1 MW with the lowest bid of PLN 284.95 ($71.28)/MWh, and 471 MW for projects larger than 1 MW w...

Press Releases

AIKO and Allimex Green Power sign distribution agreement for the European market

AIKO is pleased to announce that it has signed a partnership agreement with Allimex Green Power, a supplier of green energy solutions in Belgium. The agreement comprises the supply of AIKO’s innovative, high-efficiency ABC (All Back Contact) modules for Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain.

ASTORIOS Unveils Uzbekistan’s Largest Solar Carport

ASTORIOS Holding Inc. , a US-based international renewable energy company, announces the launch of Uzbekistan's largest solar carport, reinforcing the country's commitment to sustainable energy.

Trina Solar to offer modules and trackers for 90MW PV power plants in Brazil

Trina Solar has secured a supply agreement with the Brazilian EPC contractor Fiber X to offer solar modules and trackers to the CEMIG SIM project, composed of several distributed generation solar power plants, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The project has total capacity of 90 MW.

Pylontech and BloombergNEF Jointly Release Global Residential Energy Storage Market White Paper

Pylontech and BloombergNEF (BNEF) achieved a significant milestone in advancing the energy storage industry through the joint release of an in-depth white paper titled "Scaling the Residential Energy Storage Market" at the BNEF Summit Shanghai on November 27th.

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

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).

Sri Lanka launches 19 MW (AC) ground-mounted solar tender

Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is inviting proposals for the development of 1 MW (AC) to 5 MW (AC) solar projects across half a dozen locations in the South Asian country.

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.

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.

New Zealand’s largest utility-scale solar project starts generating power

Lodestone Energy has started generating electricity at its solar plant in Kaitaia, New Zealand – the nation’s largest solar array and first utility-scale PV installation to date.

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.

Installations

Featured

Croatia’s solar streak marred by 4-year finalization waiting times

Zvonimir Meštrović, head of solar business development at Croatian energy company ENCRO, tells pv magazine that sunny days and an ideal political climate set the Balkan country up to harvest large volumes of solar. However, he says bureaucratic red tape is weighing down the industry.

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.

BP to take full control of Lightsource BP

Energy giant BP announced today it would take full ownership of solar and wind energy developer Lightsource BP once a deal – pertaining to the purchase of the remaining renewables company’s shares BP does not own – goes through next year.

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.

South Africa approves 1 GW solar project

German developer Soventix has secured approval from Eskom for the first phase of a giant 1 GW solar project in the town of De Aar, South Africa. Construction of the first 342 MW is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024.

Chile covers 20.7% of October electricity demand with solar

Chile covered 20.7% of its electricity demand in October with solar power. The nation has 9.18 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity, accounting for 26% of its total power generation capacity.

Technology

Featured

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.

French developer to build 129 MW of solar-aviary capacity

French renewables producer Unite has started building 10 photovoltaic aviaries in France, with 127 MW of total capacity. Completion is expected in two stages in spring 2024 and January 2025.

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.

Workflow for integration of BIPV in historical buildings

Italian researchers have outlined a four-step method to assess the technical feasibility of building-integrated PV (BIPV) projects in historical buildings. They applied the proposed approach to a courtyard building from the 16th century in the historical Italian town of Marcianise.

Manufacturing

Featured

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.

Imec integrates silicon heterojunction solar cells into curved surfaces

Imec has successfully integrated silicon heterojunction PV cells into curved surfaces, resulting in a 6% efficiency increase compared to passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) half cells. The cells are suitable for applications in vehicle-integrated and building-integrated PV (BIPV).

Are Europe’s major solar associations divided, again?

An article published in French newspaper Le Monde recently sparked a war between two prominent European PV associations – the decades-old SolarPower Europe and the three-year-old newcomer the European Solar Manufacturing Council. pv magazine looked into the matter to unpick the potential long-term impact the rift could have on the sector.

France’s INES building first TOPCon panels for space applications

France’s National Solar Energy Institute (INES) – a division of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) – is developing ultra-thin TOPCon solar devices for space missions, in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA).

GCL claims 18.04% efficiency for perovskite solar panel

The China National Institute of Metrology has certified the result. The manufacturer claims it was able to increase the panel efficiency from 16.02% to 18.04% in a few months.

New solar installations to hit 413 GW this year, says BloombergNEF

BloombergNEF says historically low module prices will drive the global solar industry to record installations in 2023.

Energy Storage

Featured

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.

Maharlika Consortium wins Philippines microgrid tender

The Philippines Department of Energy says the Maharlika Consortium – representing three companies – will develop two microgrid hybrid solar and diesel generator power plants for “underserved” communities located on Panlaitan island and the island of Mindoro.

Chad launches tender for engineer to oversee 30 MW PV plant construction

The Republic of Chad has started accepting applications for a consulting engineer to supervise the construction of a 30 MW (AC) ground-mounted solar power plant – with a 60 MWh storage system, 90 kV line and 90/33 kV substation – near the national capital, N’Djamena.

Performance parameters for residential heat pumps linked to PV, storage

German researchers measured a PV-powered heat pump with battery storage in a single-family home in Freiburg, Germany, for a period of a year. It features smart grid-ready tech that adjusts operations based on the grid.

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