Solar and wind are being installed at a rate that is three times faster than all other new electricity sources combined. This offers compelling market-based evidence that PV and wind are now the most competitive and practical methods for deploying new generating capacity.

Airport PV can provide an instant boost to emission-reduction efforts while work continues on sustainable aviation fuels. Developing solar projects at or near airports, however, is not as straightforward as typical ground-mount installations.

The two dominant methods used in the industry to estimate soiling levels on solar projects go some way in mitigating losses, but there is plenty of scope for more accurate observation.

Buoyant predictions about a rosy future for African photovoltaics, based on the continent’s abundant solar resources, continue to overlook the difficulties of securing investment, as Empower New Energy co-founder and CEO Terje Osmundsen explains, referring to a report published by the Africa Solar Industry Association at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi today.

Russia is destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, raising questions about how to ensure the safety and function of the country’s energy industry, particularly its nuclear power plants. What role can renewable energy play in such extreme circumstances?

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.

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.

It should come as no surprise that clean energy spending is a big chunk of Warsaw’s four-year EU grant and loans package, given that the nation’s grid-connected solar capacity rose from 3.99 GW at the end of 2020 to 6.3 GW four months ago, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The clean power numbers published annually by the International Renewable Energy Agency provide a snapshot of the global solar market and, this year, a lot of figures were unchanged from the previous dataset, especially in the off-grid segment.

Andreas Thorsheim, the CEO of Norway-based residential solar specialist Otovo, speaks to pv magazine about solar array prices, current market trends for distributed storage, and shortages of qualified professionals.

ZeroAvia tested its new 19-seat hydrogen-powered aircraft, Chinese scientists unveiled new tech to promote bubble removal in electrolyzers, and Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology researchers claimed that the most efficient hydrogen production systems are based on waste heat.

Katek, a German PV inverter manufacturer, says its 4.6 kW coolcept fleX inverter features silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors from US-based Navitas Semiconductor. It is smaller and weighs less than non-SiC models.

India’s Borosil Renewables has started domestic trial production with its third solar glass furnace, raising its capacity in India to 1,000 tons per day.

The Netherlands may have deployed 2 GW of new residential solar capacity in 2022, according to provisional figures from grid operators.

The Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) plans to build a heat pump that generates steam at 184 C at 11 bars without using gas. The tech, which uses natural refrigerants, will be used in the pharmaceutical industry.

pv magazine speaks to Raffaele Rossi, head of market intelligence for SolarPower Europe, about the solar outlook in 2023. He says the European solar market may grow by around 29% compared to 2022.

Spanish PVT specialist Abora Solar has developed aH72SK modules, which combine solar panels with power conversion efficiencies of 17.8% and a thermal efficiency rating of around 70%. Its total area is 1.96 square meters.

The Swedish authorities have identified electrocution and fire risks posed by the improper deployment of plug-in solar modules.

Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd. (SCCL) has commissioned 5 MW of a 15 MW floating solar plant on the Singareni Thermal Power Station reservoir in India.

Swiss scientists have used a minimal amount of silver to alloy the absorber in a thin-film CIGS solar cell. They say this process could help to improve efficiency, open-circuit voltage, and fill factor, while compensating for the low bandgap of the CIGS layer.

Form Energy will install two 10 MW / 1,000 MWh batteries on the sites of Xcel Energy’s former coal-fired plants.

University of Adelaide researchers and their international partners have successfully used seawater with no pre-treatment to produce green hydrogen. They did this by introducing an acid layer over the catalysts in situ.

Scientists in Germany have discovered a polymer compound that, when added to perovskite thin-film precursor materials, wraps itself around the perovskite crystals, acting as a cushion to protect the perovskite structure from thermomechanical stress. They used the additive to fabricate cells with up to 24.6% efficiency, retaining 96% of their initial performance after accelerated testing equivalent to one year in the field.

The Chinese government is considering the introduction of export restrictions on solar wafers, black silicon, and silicon casting equipment. It has launched a public consultation process on the proposed measures.

In a podcast, former Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess noted the importance of reducing reliance on China in the solar industry. But he said plans to set up production in Europe require state support and the right conditions.

The Turkish government has set a minimum import price of $60/kg, so solar cell imports exceeding this threshold will be subject to import duties. The measure is designed to protect domestic cell manufacturers.

JA Solar has worked with Chinese scientists to test a new electrical heating system for solar panels that uses the heat from uncovered panels to remove snow. The system starts by using grid electricity, but then relies on the thermal effect of resistance to uniformly heat the whole PN junction area of the snow-covered panels.

Yaskawa’s new Enewell-SOL P3A 25kW inverters are suitable for applications in medium- or large-size rooftop solar projects and carports.

Organic Electronics Technologies (OET) has announced the start of a European-funded project that will develop and build an automated manufacturing production line for integrated printed organic photovoltaics in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Developer rPlus Hydro has submitted an application for a final license to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Seminoe project– a milestone reached by only a few pumped storage projects over the last 20 years.

Edison Energy says in a new report that prices increased more moderately in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to the steep price hikes seen since 2021.

UK scientists have discovered that second-life batteries could provide a lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) than conventional batteries in school buildings equipped with PV in East African schools. They said the cheapest system configuration uses either 7.5 kW or 10 kW of solar with 20 kWh of storage.

Rapidly deploying 5.2 GW of planned solar and storage in Puerto Rico, a possibility raised in a report by six national laboratories, would require an improvement in the Puerto Rico utility’s practices. A mandated procurement process has suffered delays at many steps.

Chigozie Nweke-Eze is an economist, geographer and founder of Integrated Africa Power. He sat down with pv magazine to discuss green hydrogen development in Africa, from the project pipeline to the necessity of “additionality” when it comes to ensuring hydrogen doesn’t become yet another exploited African resource.