This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Aleksandra Gabryjalowicz-Watla, Head of Partnerships Wind & Solar Germanyat Statkraft Erneuerbare GmbH. She explains how being out “in the field” may mean more exposion to occasional opposition or bias, but she also says how to properly react to bias or even disrespect.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Giorgia Epicoco, Senior EU Affairs Manager | Sustainability Lead at Huawei. She believes that the renewable energy sector is now poised to welcome a growing number of talented female professionals in technical, sales, marketing, operations, logistics, and public affairs roles. “However, reaching top-level positions isn’t feasible for everyone, and this is where skills development becomes crucial,” she warned.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that, thanks to warm temperatures and relatively sunny skies, Finland and Sweden had irradiance up to 30%, which unusually resulted in higher total irradiance than the more southerly UK and France. On the other side of the Baltic Sea, Poland, the Baltic States, and neighbouring countries also experienced irradiance up to 30% above the long-term average.

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 its second monthly column for pv magazine, the IEC highlights the research on flexible crystalline silicon solar cells led by researcher Zhengxin Liu, the Vice Chair of IEC Technical Committee 82, which prepares standards for solar PV energy systems.

Genneia has announced a joint investment of $250 million with the provincial government of Mendoza to develop 273 MW of solar projects in the departments of Malargüe and Luján de Cuyo, Argentina.

The European Union plans to impose tariffs of up to 38% on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China, as an ongoing investigation into imports has shown that the value chain benefits from unfair subsidies.

Weekly electricity prices increased in all major European markets last week, except for the British and Nordic markets, according to AleaSoft Energy Forecasting.

Modular solar specialist 5B’s pre-assembled and relocatable Maverick solar solution has been unfolded in another off-grid hybrid renewable energy project as the decarbonisation of Australia’s mining sector continues.

Pennsylvania and Minnesota have joined six other states in requiring smart inverters for distributed solar and storage. Certain utilities in 13 states and Puerto Rico also require smart inverters, while six states are considering the requirement. Smart inverters enable more solar on distribution circuits.

France’s Sunology says its new Play Max system is “the world’s first plug-and-play station with an integrated modular battery.”

Solum has developed the Arena solar panel, which serves as anti-slip flooring for roofs and terraces. The manufacturer says it is as efficient as conventional PV modules, with a calculated return on investment in four years in Spain.

German organic PV manufacturer Heliatek has announced a new series of lightweight modules. The Heliasol 436-2000-CFE-45-600V panels are IEC 61215 and IEC 61730 certified and have a 20-year lifetime warranty.

Renewables developer Frontier Energy has boosted the storage duration of its 80 MW Waroona Renewable battery by 12% to 4.5 hours

Irish renewables developer Enerpower has started building a 9 MW solar array at Dublin Airport. The project is expected to generate more than 10% of the airport’s electricity needs once it is completed.

Maxeon’s Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) solar panels were found to disperse heat evenly, leading to lower operating temperatures in the shade and reduced degradation.

Soltec has developed a floating PV tracker with pumps in the central tank for mobility and ballast, enabling operation in wind gusts above 100 km/h.

A research team including scientists from Italian module manufacturer 3Sun has tested new zirconium-doped indium oxide electrodes in commercial heterojunction solar modules. The new electrodes reportedly achieve the same performance as their counterparts based on indium tin oxide and paves the way for lower indium consumption in heterojunction products.

JinkoSolar says its 182 mm tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar module has achieved a conversion efficiency of 25.42%.

University of New South Wales researchers have created vortex generators that can reportedly reduce the operating solar module temperature by up to 2.5 C. They built two different prototypes, based on aluminum and a conductive 3D printable polymer, and tested them under several scenarios in an experimental setting deployed in Sydney.

The report from kWh Analytics, with input from several industry leaders, identified 14 risks to be aware of in the solar industry, including risks related to extreme weather, such as hail, and operational risks.

Wood Mackenzie says that JA Solar has taken first place on its list of solar panel manufacturers. Nine of the first 12 positions are held by Chinese manufacturers, seven of them could surpass 100 GW of capacity by 2027, and eight are self-sufficient in cell capacity, according to the research firm.

French developer Solveo Energies has developed a 247 kW agrivoltaic facility spread across 3,500 m2. The system features trackers controlled by the Cultiveo Dynamique algorithm, to protect an apricot farm in Pyrénées-Orientales, France.

A research group in Canada has optimized the performance of concentrator photovoltaics by using the so-called surface-mount technology for thermal management. The CPV module prototype utilizes four non-interconnected III-V germanium cells, a Fresnel lens, and a transparent glass printed-circuit board.

Researchers in China have built a tandem-perovskite solar cell with a top perovskite device based on an absorber treated with n-butanol, which reportedly reduces the detrimental effects of moisture in manufacturing processes carried out in air environment. The result is a tandem cell with improved charge collection.

Solarwatt says it has developed a DC version of its Battery flex PV storage system. The new version offers backup power and is optimized for the Steca SolBrid hybrid inverter.

Nexa Advisory says sluggish rooftop solar and battery storage uptake by businesses in the Australian state of New South Wales points to a 7 GW missed opportunity, and 28 GW nationally.

New research from the United Kingdom shows how during the Covid-19 crisis homeowners relying on PV and storage were able to considerably reduce grid electricity reliance, while increasing self-consumption rates. The analysis included 100 houses equipped with solar arrays ranging in output from 1.71 kW to 4.86 kW and batteries ranging from 2.5 kW to 3.3 kW.

As the state-owned SECI launches a reverse auction to purchase 539,000 metric tonnes of green ammonia a year, Yara officially opened its 24 MW renewable hydrogen plant at Herøya, Norway.

A set of technological improvements incorporated into the new product NAS MODEL L24 allows for lower maintenance costs compared to the earlier sodium sulfur battery type developed by the two manufacturers.