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.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, presents the solar irradiance data it collected for North America in May. New York registered a new record on May 18th, when solar power met 20% of the state power demand, while Los Angeles and San Diego rooftops actually received less irradiance during May than New York’s or Boston’s.

Gas and CO2 prices continued their downward trend in the fourth week of May, which led to a general downward trend in prices in European electricity markets and several negative hourly prices were registered, which reached -€400/MWh in Netherlands. The notable exception of the Iberian market, which saw a rise in prices, came from the fall in renewable energy production. During the week, records of solar photovoltaic energy production were reached in Germany, France, and Italy.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, presents the solar irradiance data it collected for North America since early May. The province of Alberta saw close to 100 wildfires raging from the beginning of the month and solar asset operators throughout the impacted regions can expect reduced efficiency from both the irradiance impacts and increased panel soiling.

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.

The first post-pandemic update on the state of the world’s off-grid solar industry has painted a picture of domination by European companies, but highlighted the potential for new startups in West Africa and an increasing use of PV as a backup to unreliable grid supplies.

The off-grid solar sector has shown resilience in the face of pandemic-related challenges, with 70 million people gaining access to electricity from early 2020 to the end of 2021. However, the ability to pay for solar energy kits has taken a hit.

The African Development Bank has announced that European and US donors will provide $20 million of concessional loans to support pay-as-you-go solar companies in sub-Saharan Africa.

With comparisons with a Covid-hit 2020 inevitably offering a string of positive numbers, there was also little to concern the board of the inverter and battery manufacturer from the returns generated in the last quarter.

The latest edition of a clean power jobs survey produced by IRENA and the International Labour Organization has stressed the important role which will need to be played by the public sector if the energy transition’s employment benefits are to be shared equally.

ONGC Tripura Power Co. (OTPC) and Assam Power Distribution Co. Ltd. (APDCL) have set up a joint venture to deploy a 250 MW/500 MWh battery in Assam, India.

Former Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Guy Debelle has warned that the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) poses a “material threat” to Australia’s push to become a green hydrogen superpower.

DEWA said it will announce the preferred bidder for the 1,800 MW 6th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in the third quarter of this year.

A group of researchers and data scientists from the Chesapeake Conservatory studied the construction of solar energy facilities in states surrounding the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and found that solar developments on already cultivated land did not adversely impact biodiversity.

The European Commission says it is unnecessary and unadvisable to prolong the emergency measures for the energy market that were adopted at the end of 2022. This means that the €0.18 ($0.19)/kWh price cap on solar and other renewables will no longer apply in most member states from June 30.

Mezőcsát, a 233 MW solar plant in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Hungary, has officially commenced operations.

The Melbourne Market Authority has switched on a 2.4 MW solar carpark at its facility in Melbourne, Australia. It is the first phase of a three-stage project that will culminate in a 10 MW rooftop system.

PVcase, a Lithuanian PV software company, has acquired Anderson Optimization and says the integration of the US-based firm’s software could allow it to slash design times from weeks to just 20 minutes.

A research group from Ireland developed a PVT system consisting of a 170 W photovoltaic panel connected to a water tank placed at the backside of the PV module itself. The PVT module is able to considerably reduce the temperature of the PV unit while producing hot water for residential use.

Chinese manufacturer Akcome has released a new line of heterojunction solar panels with a nominal power capacity ranging between 710 W and 730 W and a conversion efficiency of 22.80% to 23.50%.

NASA and SpaceX have successfully launched two new roll-out solar arrays, known as IROSA, to enhance the energy production capacity of the International Space Station’s microgravity complex. These arrays will provide an expanded and efficient power source for the space station’s operations.

More than 20 companies, governments, and nongovernmental organizations have presented EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson with a roadmap for the European heat pump sector, including recommended solutions to overcome barriers to growth.

A Spanish-Finnish research team has fabricated an IBC solar cell with an ultrathin black silicon wafer with a thickness of 40 µm. The device is based on vanadium oxide and laser-processed phosphorus-doped silicon carbide stacks as hole and electron transport layers, respectively.

Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions has supplied two 50 MW seawater heat pumps for district heating at the port of Esbjerg, Denmark. They use CO2 as a refrigerant and will be powered by nearby wind farms. The project will start producing 350,000 MWh of heat per year in the fall.

TW Solar announced it will invest around $1.48 billion in a new integrated solar module manufacturing facility in Chengdu City. Meanwhile, Jinkosolar began to buy new production equipment for its expansion plans from Wuxi Autowell.

Shoals Technologies has filed a patent infringement complaint against Hikam America and Voltage, LLC, with the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

German engineering federation VDMA has published a new report outlining strong demand for solar production equipment from non-Asian markets, indicating a shift in the global solar industry landscape.

Singulus says its new production equipment can apply a passivation layer to the edges of half-cell, multi-cell, and shingle cells. Its Generis PET machine is also suitable for batch or inline processing and is compatible with all crystalline solar cell technologies.

India’s annual utility-scale solar deployment is expected to slow down in 2023, following a record-breaking 14 GW of additions in 2022, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Caltech’s space solar program began in 2011 when philanthropist Donald Bren donated more than $100 million in support of the project. In the first demonstration of solar energy beamed to earth, his vision is now becoming reality.

Torrent Power has signed a deal with the Maharashtra state government in India to set up 5.7 GW of pumped hydro storage capacity, while NHPC, a state-owned hydropower producer, is actively exploring pumped storage projects across multiple states in the country.

Japan has announced plans to invest $150 billion in hydrogen over the next decade, while Malaysia has revealed that it will invest in solar and hydrogen under a new energy roadmap. Separately, Kansai Electric Power and Canada’s ATCO have agreed to collaborate on a feasibility study for green hydrogen supplies.

India’s Lohum has designed a 5 kWh energy storage system in collaboration with MG Motor India, as part of efforts to develop second-life solutions for used EV batteries.

A British research team has investigated the technical feasibility of an air conditioning unit powered exclusively by solar-plus-storage and has found that two 130 Ah batteries charged by two 400 W solar panels are capable of supporting the system during the night.

Endua has installed its first 100 kW standalone hydrogen power bank in Brisbane, Australia. The news comes weeks after the company raised AUD 11.8 million ($7.81 million) to scale the technology.