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Meyer Burger aiming for EU funding to hit gigawatt scale

Swiss PV manufacturer Meyer Burger hit its 321 MW production volume target last year, and its expansion into the gigawatt scale is already underway, as it recently completed two additional purchase agreements with major customers. It has also applied for hundreds of millions of funding support from the EU Innovation Fund, with a final decision to be made in the summer.
Energy Storage

Novel oxygen-ion battery may offer longer lifespan, claims TU Wien

Austrian scientists have created a lab-scale, solid-state, oxygen ion battery based on mixed ionic electronic conducting (MIEC), which is a special class of non-flammable electroceramic materials. The battery has around 30% of the energy density of lithi...
Installations

China installed 20.37 GW of PV in January-February period

China reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of 314 GW by the end of February, according to new figures from the National Energy Administration (NEA).
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The power behind Pakistan’s “under the radar” gigawatt-scale market

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Transparent advantage – Why transparent backsheet bifacial modules can beat out the cumbersome competition

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New tracker design: Multiple motors to tackle multiple challenges

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Manufacturing

SDN unveils 595 W solar module with 21.28% efficiency

South Korea's SDN has developed new bifacial solar modules based on M10 wafers. It claims the new panels are the largest to be produced in South Korea.
Markets & Policy

New Zealand moves forward with 8.5 TWh pumped hydro project

The New Zealand government will investigate the viability of establishing a pumped hydroelectric facility on the South Island. The project could provide up to 8.5 TWh of annual generation and storage capacity to support the nation’s transition to 100% ...
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Markets & Policy

US residential solar quotes hit average of $2.85 per watt

EnergySage says Qcells is now as the most quoted solar panel maker in the United States.
Installations

Solar curtailment vs. storage

Swiss researchers have looked at whether storage could be cheaper than curtailment in medium-voltage distribution networks with significant amounts of PV capacity. They considered storage costs, operational costs, grid constraints, electricity costs, PV ...
Installations

New tool to estimate efficiency, savings of ground-source heat pumps

Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a free, web-based application that calculates the savings and energy efficiency of residential ground-source heat pumps compared to gas heating.

Press Releases

Key Energy 2023: Kehua presents innovations for cleaner energy

Key Energy is one of the largest exhibitions in Italy for the renewable energy industry, attracting more and more exhibitors and visitors every year as it provides information and industry-leading solutions.

Anesco breaks ground on 110MW ground mount solar for Gresham House

UK solar and storage company, Anescom has broken ground on four solar farms totalling 110MW for Gresham House, as part of a major ground mount development and construction partnership held between the two companies. The sites represent a significant milestone for the partnership, being the first to reach the construction stage.

RESO Power announces multi-million dollar Sustainable Power Project in Nigeria

RESO Power is pleased to announce a groundbreaking collaboration with Nigerian partners to launch a multi-million dollar sustainable power project in Nigeria. This project utilizes the innovative i-GRID a micro-grid solution from RESO Power, supplied by MARUTECH, in partnership with MARU and Sustainolution.

KORE Power Chooses Honeywell Automation Technologies for Lithium Battery Gigafactory

Fully integrated digital solution will deliver remote visualization and control over operations while driving productivity making Arizona facility one of world’s most efficient, sustainable

Opinion & Analysis

Featured

Assessing the area intensity of PV

Solar is wrongly perceived by some people to be an area-intensive energy generation technology requiring much more space than conventional fossil-fuel power plants.

Get what you pay for

Clean Energy Associates (CEA) has calculated the price premium that solar developers will swallow in return for the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) savings offered by the latest generation of high-efficiency PV panels.

Saudi Arabia’s solar market

Saudi Arabia aims to add 10 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2027, with solar to account for the lion’s share. The Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) describes the main market drivers that could make this target achievable.

Hungarian solar is on the rise but much needs to be resolved

PV deployment is gathering pace in the EU member state but grid capacity shortfalls and unpredictable shifts in government policy need to be addressed if the nation is to harness its full solar – and European energy security – potential.

When will the world be fossil free?

Despite the ever-growing number of nations committing to attaining a net-zero economy, there appears little prospect yet of a future free of fossil fuels, as Roger Lewis, an environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) expert at Downing LLP explains.

Optimizing off-grid PV systems for different design criteria

A new report by IEA PVPS Task 18 provides a blueprint guide on how to conduct feasibility studies for off-grid and edge-of-grid power systems. The optimal system size and specifications vary depending on the client’s priorities. The desired project outcomes can be identified using pure financial analysis (NPV, IRR) or additionally taking environmental performance into account.

Covid-19

African PAYG solar companies have hogged 72% of sector’s investment

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.

Off-grid solar continues to expand

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.

AfDB announces cheap loans to back off-grid solar in Africa

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.

Irena gives latest update on stark chances of electricity access for all by 2030

The International Renewable Energy Agency’s latest annual report on the progress towards UN sustainable development goal seven estimates 670 million people will still lack electricity in 2030, and more than 2 billion will be reliant on unhealthy, polluting cooking methods.

EU Chips Act proposed to address semiconductor shortages

The European Commission wants to introduce legislation to back semiconductor research and to address the immediate problem of supply chain bottlenecks by drumming up more than €43 billion, with member states and the private sector expected to contribute.

Module and shipping cost inflation could cost the world 50 GW of solar next year

The input costs of the two biggest contributors to solar plant development expense have gone through the roof since the world began to come out of Covid-19 lockdowns, to leave project developers with some difficult choices.

Markets & Policy

Featured

Asia takes the lead on floating PV

Floating PV is consolidating as a growth segment for PV demand, mainly driven by supportive policies and incentives extended by governments across the world. A major reason for this push is the limited land availability in many markets. Despite higher equipment prices compared to ground-mounted installations, developers see the opportunity to save on land and O&M costs. The output can also be as much as 30% higher than a ground-mount PV plant, depending on the site and technology used.

Cape Verde kicks off tender for 3.4 MW of solar

The government of Cape Verde is seeking developers to build four solar plants across four islands in the archipelagic nation.

New global solar capacity additions hit 191 GW in 2022, says IRENA

Global renewable capacity increased by 295 GW last year, bringing the world to a cumulative installed capacity of 3,372 GW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Only5min! – Prospects for balcony solar

Karolina Attspodina, the CEO of Germany-based We do Solar, speaks with pv magazine about the tech behind the startup’s balcony solar kits. She discusses potential savings, shading impacts, and concerns about electrocution and fire risks with plug-in solar modules.

Green Akku introduces balcony solar modules with storage

Green Akku’s “selfPV” solution is available in versions featuring one or two solar modules, with prices ranging from €2,057 ($2.215) to €2,434. It says homeowners can self-consume all of the generated solar power, without having to feed it into the grid.

Bureau Veritas reports strong interest in hydrogen certification

Bureau Veritas tells pv magazine that there is a great deal of interest in hydrogen certification schemes in Europe, Australia, the United States, and the Middle East.

Installations

Featured

Australia builds big

While the first half of 2022 was one of the busiest periods on record for new wind projects in Australia, with more than 2 GW breaking ground, solar got off to a much slower start with construction on 635 MW of new PV projects getting underway. Rystad Energy’s David Dixon attributes this slowdown to high cost and supply chain challenges and a lack of available power purchase agreements.

Solar-powered cooling solution for off-grid applications

Phaesun and Solar Cooling Engineering have developed a PV-powered cold room for small-scale farmers in Africa. The solution, which has been installed at a farm in Kenya, includes a 2.8 kW solar array and vapor compression heat pumps.

Residential heat pump subsidies across Europe

The European Heat Pump Association has compiled an up-to-date overview of subsidies for residential heat pumps in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland.

IndianOil targets 200 GW of renewable energy by 2050

State-owned IndianOil says it plans to have around 2 million metric tons of green hydrogen capacity in its portfolio by 2050.

Australian developer plans gigawatt-scale solar, battery project

Skylab, a solar tracking distributor and renewable energy project developer, has unveiled ambitious plans to build about 1 GW of solar and battery energy storage facility in the Australian state of Queensland.

Global study highlights potential of floating solar

An international group of researchers has calculated the potential for floating solar across the world. The results show a generation potential of 9,434 TWh per year across 114,555 global reservoirs, with 30% of their area covered. The United States leads with 1,911 TWh per year of potential, followed by China at 1,107 TWh per year and Brazil at 865 TWh per year.

Technology

Featured

Copper is the new silver lining

As the PV industry scales to annual terawatt-level production to rapidly curtail the world’s emissions, it will become more challenging to continue the cost reduction trajectory. Increasing module production from current levels of 200 GW to 300 GW to several terawatts each year will consume significantly more material resources than the industry currently uses. This will require consideration of the additional materials to be sourced, writes Alison Lennon, chief scientist at Sundrive Solar and professor at the UNSW’s School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering.

US researchers evaluate viability of ‘direct’ green hydrogen fuel production

Rather than using solar or wind to power electrolysis, researchers are testing the competitiveness of photoelectrochemical cells to produce emissions-free hydrogen fuels.

Dutch BIPV specialist unveils white facade solar panels

Solarix, a building-integrated PV (BIPV) manufacturer in the Netherlands, has developed a white variant of its facade solar panels. It says demand for white BIPV products is rising across Europe, especially among architects.

Samsung, Oxford launch heat pump pilot project at subsidized prices

Samsung and the city of Oxford in the UK have announced the trial of a neighborhood heat pump scheme in Rose Hill, Oxford. The project aims to connect communities to local installers, helping to remove key barriers to heat pump uptake, including cost. Up to 150 Samsung air-source heat pumps will be installed at a reduced price of GBP 2,600 ($3,185) each.

French startup deploys 300 kW offshore solar pilot in Mediterranean

SolarinBlue has deployed the first units of an offshore PV pilot plant in the Mediterranean Sea, 1.5 km off the port of Sète, France.

Scientists achieve 24.83% efficiency with 2D/3D heterojunction perovskite PV cell

Researchers in China have built a perovskite solar cell with a 2D/3D heterojunction architecture. The device has an open-circuit voltage of 1.19 V, a short-circuit current of 25.21 mA cm−2, and a fill factor of 82.61%.

Manufacturing

Featured

Catalyst for an EU comeback

Plans for Europe’s largest-ever PV cell and module factory are taking shape, with equipment orders placed and a projected start date in mid-2024. Enel Green Power has received €118 million ($116.36 million) in funding from the EU Innovation Fund to support the project, out of a total €600 million investment. The EU is hoping it will catalyze further investment in similar projects, and start a high-tech comeback for European solar manufacturing.

SEG Solar intends to set up 2 GW of US solar panel production

SEG Solar says it will invest $60 million in a new US factory. It currently produces panels at factories in Vietnam and Indonesia.

Used, resold PV module prices aligned with general market, says US supplier

EnergyBin has released its annual PV module price index, which shows that module prices have fallen from their 2022 peak – but they are still more expensive than they were in 2020.

US-made solar panels could cut emissions by 30%, says study

Reshoring crystalline silicon PV panel manufacturing to the United States by 2035 could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and energy consumption by 13% from 2020 levels, according to scientists from Cornell University.

Solitek to build 600 MW solar module factory in Italy

Solitek has revealed plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Benevento, Italy.

Huasun claims 23.30% efficiency, 723.97 W output for utility-scale solar panels

Huasun’s new PV modules have an open-circuit voltage of 49.46 V, a short-circuit current of 17.57 A, and a fill factor of 83.29%. Germany’s TÜV SUD has confirmed the results.

Energy Storage

Featured

Cobalt clings on

Cobalt is key for boosting energy density and battery life, but it comes with caveats: expensive, scarce, and linked to unethical mining practices, wild price fluctuations, and a tenuous supply chain. In recent years, battery manufacturers and automakers have intensified efforts to reduce or eliminate cobalt in lithium-ion cathodes. But sometimes, old habits die hard, as pv magazine’s Marija Maisch explains.

The Hydrogen Stream: Lhyfe, Centrica to develop offshore green hydrogen

Lhyfe has revealed plans to jointly develop offshore renewable green hydrogen with Centrica in the United Kingdom. Separately, the Paris-listed hydrogen producer said it has also acquired a stake in Finland’s Flexens.

Poland includes heat pumps in residential solar rebate program

The Polish government says it will launch the fifth round of its Mój Prąd program in April. The scheme will offer rebates for air and ground heat pumps, as well as residential batteries.

Australian startup using second-life Nissan Leaf EV battery packs for storage

Relectrify, an Australian battery technology startup, has secured approval from the International Electrotechnical Commission for its ReVolve energy storage product, which opens the way for it to globally scale up its cell-level control tech.

Bosch unveils propane heat pump for residential applications

Germany’s Bosch has developed an air-source heat pump that uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant. It can produce between 3.9 kW and 6.7 kW of heat, and domestic hot water to a temperature of up to 75 C. It says the heat pump can be paired with rooftop solar to maximize self-consumption.

Australia startup announces nanosilicon tech that may help build better batteries

Australian materials tech developer Kinaltek has unveiled a one-step production process that it says can convert common silica powders into battery-grade nanosilicon for less than 5% of the cost of existing technologies. The innovation paves the way for the use of silicon nanoparticles in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

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