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Systovi unveils ultra-lightweight solar panels

French module maker Systovi says its new solar panels weigh just 3 kg/m2. They are designed for flat tertiary rooftops that cannot support the weight of framed solar panels. It will begin selling the new modules in 2024.
Manufacturing

Indian researchers unveil new way to make metal-oxide layers for solar cells

Researchers at IIT Mandi have developed high-quality, uniform thin films of nickel oxide on the silicon substrate using an aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition technique, with nickel nitrate as the precursor material.
Energy Storage

Sirea releases storage systems for PV applications

France's Sirea has developed a new range of smart plug-in systems for PV storage. The batteries can deliver from 20 kW (AC) to 500 kW, depending on the model, with storage capacities ranging from 100 kWh to 1 MWh.
Announcements

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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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Installations

Shifting sands of the Polish PV market

Poland emerged as Europe’s third-biggest solar market in 2022, driven by the rapid uptake of PV micro-installations below 50 kW in size, but this year is already starting to look different. Marcin Ślęzak, chief commercial officer of Warsaw-based Menl...
Markets & Policy

Paper-thin carbon fiber for battery with 428 Wh/kg energy density

South Korean scientists have developed a new way to integrate a lithium-metal anode into a battery and reach higher energy capacity levels than current lithium-ion tech. They worked with a carbon fiber paper infused with lithium and demonstrated an energ...
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Energy Storage

Vaillant unveils propane heat pump for residential applications

Germany’s Vaillant has developed an air-source heat pump that uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant. It can produce between 3.4 kW and 8 kW of heat, and domestic hot water to a temperature of up to 75 C. It says the heat pump maximizes savings when pa...
Energy Storage

Silicon anode lithium-ion battery cell with 500 Wh/kg density

Amprius has obtained third-party performance verification for a battery cell that offers high power density in a lightweight package.
Manufacturing

Weekend Read: Shingle all the way

While shingled cells have been around for a while, Tongwei’s adoption of the technology is notable as it is a manufacturer with considerable scale. If shingling can overcome some hurdles, it could prove a welcome solution as unshaded sites for PV becom...

Press Releases

LONGi enters into renewable energy cooperation as framework supplier in Singapore and Indonesia

A Memorandum of Understanding on renewable energy cooperation has been signed by Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, and Teo Chee Hean, Singapore’s Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, at the countries’ recent leadership retreat.

EDF Renewables completes energisation of three new solar farms in Ireland

Curraghmartin, Blusheens and Coolroe Solar Farms are among the first to be energised in the country

The countdown for the 15th International SolarEX Istanbul Solar Energy and Technologies Fair, which the Clean Energy Enthusiasts Are Looking Forward to has begun

In our journey, which we have begun to contribute to our national economy in order for it to become greener and more sustainable, we bring together the best of the sector for the 15th time.

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.

South Africa launches tender for floating, ground-mounted PV

The South African government is looking for independent power producers to build and operate floating or ground-mounted PV projects at selected government waterworks infrastructure or damns. The projects should be operational for 20 years.

Enel starts building 170 MW of agrivoltaics in Italy

Enel Green Power says it has started working on the largest agrivoltaics plant in Italy. It will feature bifacial PV modules mounted on trackers. Olive trees will grow around the solar panel rows.

Germany added 1.62 GW of PV in January-February period

Germany’s grid authority has reported that the country added 874 MW of solar in January and 746 MW in February.

Gensol Engineering acquires Scorpius Trackers

Gensol Engineering has acquired Indian solar tracking specialist Scorpius Trackers for $16.42 million.

FERC says 1,700 GW of US renewables still awaiting interconnection

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) says that just 86 GW of power projects based on fossil fuels are awaiting interconnection, while 1,700 GW of solar, wind, storage remain delayed.

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.

Temperature estimates for floating PV modules

Scientists from the United States and Brazil have developed four different ways to estimate the temperature of floating PV modules. They validated the models with temperature measurements from a floating solar plant in Brazil.

German manufacturer achieves 80% overall efficiency with new PVT solar module

Sunmaxx says Fraunhofer ISE has confirmed the 80% efficiency of its new photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) module. It consists of 108 PERC half-cells in M10 format, with 400 W of electrical output and 1,200 W of thermal output.

New propane heat pump for district heating

Swedish manufacturer Qvantum has developed a 6 kW heat pump for apartments connected to district heating systems. It uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant.

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).

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 generation models, and loads.

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.

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 lithium-ion batteries but can purportedly achieve a longer lifespan.

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.

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% renewable electricity generation.

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.

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.

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.

Qcells announces new US solar encapsulant factory

Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia has agreed to supply EVA encapsulant film to Qcells, in addition to supporting Qcells’ plans to develop a fully integrated solar supply chain in the United States.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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: Zimbabwe to develop first utility-scale plant

HDF and ZETDC have signed Zimbabwe’s first utility-scale green hydrogen power plant, with 178 GWh of expected annual electricity production. Rystad Energy, meanwhile, says Africa’s total electrolyzer pipeline has hit 114 GW.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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