Factories suffering from rationed grid electricity could help drive a boom in on-site solar systems, and recent moves to mandate the retrofitting of PV on existing buildings could also lift the market, as analyst Frank Haugwitz explains.

The urgency to decarbonize the building sector has caught global attention in the lead-up to the COP26 summit, commencing on Oct. 31. Wood Mackenzie’s Ben Hertz-Shargel says that success will require a two-pronged strategy of massively electrifying building heat over the coming decade, while also investing in technologies that can pick up future heating demand if the grid cannot handle it.

Industrial shutdowns and reduced factory production capacity levels indicate the companies producing the raw materials used by solar manufacturers are being afflicted by electricity consumption measures just as other sectors are. It is not clear whether the solar industry will be afforded any favors by Beijing, as analyst Frank Haugwitz explains.

It turns out that you can have too much of a good thing, says Mark Byrne of Australia’s Total Environment Centre. Or rather, it’s possible that there is too much rooftop PV at some times in some places. As a result, a range of critical reforms – including the introduction of export tariffs to pay for upgrades of the electricity distribution network – are necessary to allow for the uninhibited growth of solar in the future, he argues.

With a rising chorus of voices calling for more solar industry recruits to perform the energy transition, Nigeria already has a skilled base of PV engineers and, with a little help filling the few gaps they have in their knowledge, the nation can step into the breach immediately, as Testimony Gabe-Oji, chief technology officer for Abuja-based installer Green Energy Spectrum, explains.

A note issued by Norwegian analyst Rystad has hinted it may be time to consider abandoning the 1.5-degree average global temperature rise ceiling agreed upon in Paris six years ago, because the world will never be able to pump out enough solar panels in time.

An independent third-party has approved the European Commission’s safeguards to ensure the projects in member states financed by €250 billion of green bonds over the next five years, will have genuine emission reduction credentials.

‘More than 90’ suppliers of appliances such as solar lanterns and home solar panels, as well as mini-grid installers, will be offered low-interest credit by an assortment of government-backed and privately-financed entities.

Norwegian consultancy DNV today published the latest of its annual surveys of the state of the energy transition and lamented the fact so very little has been achieved during the last five years. We are forging ahead into a world that will be 2.3C hotter this century, predicts the report.

The latest global PV industry outlook published by trade group SolarPower Europe, has indicated tight supply of the solar panel raw material is expected to persist this year but the trade body said it would be unlikely to drive further price rises.

Menlo Electric said the procured modules will be primarily offered to B2C and B2B installers across Central Europe.

Compressed hydrogen ship maker Global Energy Ventures will develop a 2.8 GW green hydrogen export project on the Tiwi Islands, off the coast of the Northern Territory. It says the project will demonstrate the simplicity and efficiency of compressed hydrogen for Asia-Pacific supply chains, and will of course use a fleet of its own hydrogen-powered and hydrogen carrying 430-tonne ships.

The 61 MW solar facility is owned by Colombian oil company Ecopetrol.

Elsewhere, Snam and Toyota are pushing for more hydrogen-based mobility in Italy, and Woodside Petroleum wants to establish an export-oriented hydrogen and ammonia production facility in Australia.

Elsewhere, cell maker Aikosolar has announced two major wafer purchase agreements with manufacturers Shuangliang and Shangji, and Zhonghuan Semiconductor has reported solid financials for the third quarter.

Some 90,000 individual solar panels will generate enough electricity to cover around 40% of the electricity used in two buildings for Google.

A $40 million solar field which will double the generation capacity of the Omsk region is planned to start generating in December as part of the national government’s clean air ambitions.

The 97%-efficient device is said to be the most powerful PV microinverter developed by the company to date and is capable of forming a microgrid during a power outage. The U.S. manufacturer expects to ship the first products in December.

Under development since 2015, the 7.5 MW solar plant was built thanks to the efforts of multiple international entities including the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the U.K. government-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP).

With green hydrogen needed to produce the ‘e-ammonia’ required for carbon-free vessels, new clean power generation capacity and potential solar power hotspots near international shipping lanes will be crucial.

According to a statement released by the Californian manufacturer, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued an initial determination finding that Canadian Solar may have violated two U.S. patents covering Solaria’s shingled photovoltaic panels.

As modules change in size and form factor, ripple effects are felt across the entire solar industry, requiring tweaks, modifications, and outright changes to longstanding project development and construction practices.

U.K.-based Gravitricity is planning to deploy its gravity-based energy storage solution at a decommissioned coal mine in Czechia. The project is part of a plan to commence a full-scale, 4-8 MW prototype scheme in disused mines next year.

The 1.2 kW solar awning can be retracted automatically in the event of adverse weather conditions. The patented technology, developed by Xponent Power, may enable a wide range of additional applications such as for use by the military, for emergency relief, and residential power.

Jindal India Solar Energy, Shirdi Sai Electricals, Reliance New Energy Solar, and Adani Infrastructure will each have half of their planned 4 GW annual production of polysilicon-to-module output subsidized by public funds.

An investigation into internal controls at the polysilicon maker found the company permitted deals to be signed off solely on paper in certain circumstances and also unearthed no evidence anyone had done their homework before handing over 865 million shares to secure a loan which, GCL says, never materialized in full.

Researchers at NREL and EPRI focused heavy bass sounds on solar panels to simulate the effects of wind-caused deflection.

The result, confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH), was achieved on a heterojunction solar cell based on an M6 wafer.

Three companies are swapping out aluminum and glass in favor of plastic to save weight and add flexibility. We look at the pros and cons.

The solar tile has a power output of 15 W and is recommended for flat concrete roof tiles. It can operate with a maximum system voltage of 600 V.

The move will encourage private sector renewables companies to be part of the national energy industry, a representative of the regulator told a recent webinar which considered how to accelerate clean energy roll-out in Africa.

The country added 60MW/106 MWh in the first half of the year. Energy storage continues to grow with the region of Lombardy and Veneto being the two largest contributors.

The DC-coupled battery has 94.5% round-trip efficiency and the inverter offers up to 11.4 kW power and 10.3 kW backup power.

New investments and partnerships announced this week see hydrogen projects developing across Europe, India, Asia and more. The current climate of high prices for natural gas has led one company to exclaim that green hydrogen is now competitive with its fossil fuel produced ‘grey’ counterpart, and research continues into optimizing hydrogen supply chains and smoothing its integration into the energy landscape.

Underground hydrogen storage seems to be coming up a lot lately, and with the burgeoning hydrogen industry needing somewhere to store itself, it’s not hard to understand why. One of the countries with the best credentials for the future hydrogen economy is Australia. A newly published report has quantified the country’s “massive opportunity” for underground hydrogen storage.