The cost effectiveness of solar energy is becoming a top priority in terms of the selection of end market products, writes EnergyTrend’s Lions Shih. The result? A more varied and diverse module landscape alongside mono’s continued rise.

This year’s Earth Overshoot Day falls on Friday, August 2. The current UN report on biodiversity protection does not report anything good. At least two reasons for our children to demonstrate on Fridays so that we not only talk, but act, says Ralf Schnitzler, project developer, solar parks, Bejulo GmbH. He believes that now is the time to take the energy revolution seriously. Below, he lays out his arguments and ideas on how the energy transition and other transformations could be possible with solar parks.

In the second of a series of four blogs, solar pioneer Philip Wolfe lists the world’s largest solar parks. In these articles, a ‘solar park’ is defined as a group of co-located solar power plants.

With market penetration exceeding expectations in 2018, bifacial technology is set to account for one third of global solar module production by 2022, writes Edurne Zoco, Research Director at IHS Markit. Bifacial and half-cell technologies are rapidly gaining momentum due to their improvements in power output, along with their low implementation barriers and minimal capex requirements

An historic new report from Energy Watch shows that we can reach 100% renewable energy in just a few decades, and it’s affordable; making this the clear answer to tackling climate change.

This year JinkoSolar launched its bifacial Swan module, one of the first to feature a transparent Tedlar backsheet made by DuPont. pv magazine had the chance to catch up with Gener Miao, JinkoSolar VP for global sales and marketing for an update on the module’s innovations, and on how the company sees solar markets this year.

The 70%-by-2030 renewable energy provision in legislation S6599 is second only to Washington DC’s 100% by 2032 aim, and includes targets of 6 GW of distributed solar by 2025 and 3 GW of energy storage by 2030. It is expected to pass the assembly today.

The new government’s chief policy thinktank has suggested banning sales of non-electric two and three wheelers in 2025 and cars, trucks and buses five years later as well as forcing public fleets and the cars used by ride hailing apps to be electric.

Metka Egn has announced the acquisition of six projects in the states of New South Wales and Queensland.

Norwegian hydropower company Statkraft has revealed more details of its solar-storage-wind-gas network. Previously announced plans to potentially double capacity this summer were not mentioned in the update.

Swedish company Azelio is studying whether storage could ensure complete self-sufficiency for the 36,000-strong Azraq camp, which already draws 70% of its electricity from solar generation.

The 45 MW installation is part of the government’s plan to reduce dependence on hydropower and, more importantly, imported electricity from neighboring South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In pursuit of its ambitious 2025 solar goal of 20 GW of installed capacity, Taiwan continues to be an attractive market for foreign companies and investors.

This year’s New Energy Outlook report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts renewables can keep us on track for less than two degrees of global heating for the next decade. But after that, other technologies will have to do their bit.

More than a quarter of global electricity is generated from renewables, with solar the third largest source according to an annual overview drafted by global policy network REN21. Despite a year-on-year fall, solar accounted for the majority of generation capacity additions last year. But a lack of decarbonization policies across the heating, cooling and transport sectors puts a patchy energy transition in prospect.

The world’s biggest solar market is on track for an unsubsidized future but policymakers continue to grapple with grid planning. A report by the German Energy Agency has offered suggestions on how China’s approach to grid design could be tweaked to ensure priority dispatch for PV while slashing administrative costs and reining in renewable energy losses.

The G20 meeting of environment and energy ministers on the weekend in Karuizawa, Japan, came out largely in favor of adopting lower-emission energy technologies. That means cleaner coal, as well as the development of solar- and wind-powered green hydrogen.

Light-induced initial degradation in PERC modules is currently a subject of intense discussion, but tests at PI Berlin have shown that the problem is solvable. Founder and CEO Paul Grunow explains the effects, the approach, and the results.

German power distributor Energy2market intends to develop its international activity under its new French owner. The founding shareholders and Trailstone UK will sell their stock to EDF subsidiary Pulse Croissance.

The nation’s renewable energy legislation will be updated to expand net metering for projects connected to the medium voltage grid, paving the way for a wave of decentralized installations.

Company stock diluted more than 8% to generate gross proceeds of $87 million as the company continues its policy of expansion at a breakneck rate.

The glass maker is set to issue fewer shares – at a higher value – in its solar glass subsidiary as it aims to generate funds for two new PV glass production lines in China.

A research team from Russia’s institutes NUST MISIS and IPCE RAS, and Italy’s University of Rome Tor Vergata, have applied an additional layer of p-type copper iodide semiconductor between perovskite and the hole-transport NiO layer of the cell. According to the scientists, this inorganic material is more accessible and easy-to-use.

The Norwegian manufacturer has delayed full shutdown of its U.S. polysilicon operation until mid July as President Trump and his Chinese counterpart are scheduled to hold talks in Osaka in two weeks’ time.

The Chinese PV manufacturer uses TOPCon half cells for the modules. The additional rear side yield is estimated by Trina at 5-30%.

More than 1.3 GWp of floating solar capacity has already been built throughout the world, according to a new report, with the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore reaffirming its belief that the global potential for floating PV is in the terawatt range.

The Trump administration is acknowledging global demand for clean energy and energy storage with the US State Department’s new strategy.

Initially, the company will construct a 16 GWh factory plus a joint venture fab with Volkswagen in Germany, which will also have a throughput of 16 GWh. Both factories could be extended to tap further into the large market for battery cells in Europe.

Representatives of the UK solar industry have praised prime minister Theresa May’s plan to amend the 2008 Climate Change Act with a 2050 net zero emissions target while urging the government to articulate how it will achieve its goal. In particular, the industry has pointed to the need to eliminate barriers that continue to hinder deployment of solar and battery storage systems.

A report on the prospects for a mooted $2.6tn electric vehicle market over the next decade says PHEVs – part electric, part gas-guzzling – are already losing market share rapidly to pure electric rivals, and will be extinct by 2030.