Energy Communities are one of the most talked about recent advancements in the world of energy, but what they are exactly and what kind of value proposition they provide is seen on a broad spectrum. There are many different definitions of communities – therefore, understanding energy communities requires us to first unpack the idea of community itself.

Russia is taking the lead in issuing a multinational stablecoin backed by commodities – a cyber-initiative connecting some of the most promising hub of hydrocarbon rich economies stretching across Eurasia, Africa and South America.  However if such technology is fueled by hydrocarbon energy, temperatures are expected to rise 3.2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by the end of the century. A decisive role could be played by the BRICS in finding innovative solutions to the functioning of the current global framework, particularly in transitioning to green economies.

Generous feed-in tariffs, a short-lived boom and retroactive cuts – the early stages of large-scale solar deployment in Europe followed a regrettable pattern. Project developers have increasingly turned to the legal system for restitution, and many have been successful, writes Daniel R. Meagher, a partner in Winston & Strawn’s international arbitration practice.

Since 2017, 156.75 mm M2 wafers have been the standard. However, improvements in cell efficiency appear to have hit a bottleneck, making wafer size a hot topic among manufacturers once again. In the second half of 2018, 158.75 mm G1 mono wafers were introduced to the market. Corrine Lin of PVInfoLink argues that while G1 will likely become the mainstream format over the next two years, 166 mm M6 wafers and 210 mm M12 wafers are presenting new options for manufacturers.

Without globally unified standards in waste management, the risk from toxic materials such as lead will become increasingly important.

An unusually profitable fourth quarter has anchored an even rarer profitable year for SunPower, bolstering growing confidence in its decision to spin off its module manufacturing business into Maxeon Solar Technologies.

As the outbreak takes its toll on solar panel and battery manufacturing in China, Australia is bracing for disruptions in the supply chain.

From pv magazine February edition California’s new residential solar mandate, effective from the first day of 2020, is going to add more than 1 GW of PV over the next five years, according to analysts. The US state already has a nation-leading 26.2 GW cumulative PV installed base. The new solar building code is directed […]

The nation’s only two poly manufacturers could both shutter factories in their homeland due to downward price pressure. OCI says it will maintain only 6,500 MT of its 52,000 MT annual production capacity in an operational state and Hanwha Chemical says it is ‘examining the situation’. Poly analyst Johannes Bernreuter has discussed the reasons for the crisis with pv magazine.

The board of the lithium miner and refiner has revealed how the outbreak has hit its Chinese production after noting ‘unusual’ share price gains this week.

The one-off charge for PV systems with generation capacities of 10-100 kW will be almost halved. The fee levied on 100 kW-1 MW arrays will come down by 1-30.7%, depending on system size.

Shareholders planning to vote on whether to sell off 294 MW of Chinese solar capacity to Beijing-owned utility China Huaneng will have to wait a little longer to find out how.

A Deutsche Telekom subsidiary has agreed to buy solar power from Vattenfall.

An all-party U.K. parliamentary group for renewable and sustainable energy event in London has again confirmed the view the government remains unmoved by calls for support for the solar sector. However, a window of opportunity may be about to open for rooftop PV thanks to proposed legislation for new homes building standards.

pv magazine has spoken to José Antonio Unanue, director of the battery energy storage system business at Ingeteam, the equipment integrator and manufacturer of the first grid-connected battery storage system in Spain, which electric utility Iberdrola launched in Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia, at the end of November.

Chinese scientists have developed a cell with a new blade-coating method and BTP-4Cl-12, a kind of acceptor that is a derivative of the Y6 acceptor, which is widely used in organic PV applications. The researchers also claim that the cells can maintain good efficiency levels, even if its surface is lightly expanded.

The Italian manufacturer said the product has a 30-year performance warranty and strong resistance to adverse weather. The 330 W panel has a claimed efficiency of 19.78% with FuturaSun reporting the 325 W and 320 W versions have efficiencies of 19.48% and 19.18%, respectively.

Scientists in the United States have demonstrated simple methods for ‘healing’ the cracks that form in perovskite solar cells. While it is far from clear how the approach could be applied commercially, the work suggests possibilities for maintaining the performance of perovskite cells in long-term operation.

The Australian research team which developed the device said the higher efficiency was achieved through a nanowire design which eliminates the interface inside the titanium dioxide band.

Panellists including a government representative and a member of the chief policy thinktank used by Narendra Modi agreed coal will continue as the staple source of Indian power into the mid century and technology should be employed to ‘clean’ it.

Trade body the Silver Institute says silver demand in the solar industry will dip slightly this year but remain near to previous record highs. Silver paste consumption for PV has been reduced due to advances in metallization techniques.

The solar giant shipped 14.2 GW of modules last year, up 33% on 2018 for the high-water mark of another year dominated by Chinese manufacturers.

Construction of the $2.87 billion factory is scheduled to start in March and manufacturing activity should be launched in 2021.

Saudi researchers have developed a cell which is said to exhibit improved structural and optoelectronic properties as well as enhanced carrier mobility and diffusion lengths. The feat was achieved by reducing voltage losses using a new passivation technique.

Spanish researchers have unveiled a monolithic nano-structured perovskite silicon tandem device they claim can reduce optical losses by more than a third compared to planar perovskite cells of the same kind.

And so it is again. With the new decade, pv magazine brings forth yet another energy storage highlights. Approximately two weeks of work went into sifting through this year’s 22 highlights submissions, conducting research, and preparing them for the jury. Once again, this year’s work was crowned by the moderation of the jury meeting, in which six leading industry experts discussed the technologies and solutions. Differing from previous years, the jurors have selected the top five “Gigawatt” winners, followed by five “Megawatt” winners, and a series of “Finalists” which will be published in the coming weeks, leading up to Energy Storage Europe.

An international group of scientists has developed a comprehensive method to track the microscopic processes at work in lithium batteries. Employing a ‘virtual unrolling’ model developed for ancient manuscripts too sensitive to be opened, the group peeked inside the layers of a commercial battery to gain a better understanding of the processes at work and the degradation mechanisms affecting them. Their findings, the group says, could provide a benchmark for battery characterization.

WoodMac analysts say the amount of new battery manufacturing capacity added in the nation this year could fall by as much as 10% because of the outbreak. With Tesla’s Shanghai gigafactory affected by the extended new-year-holiday shutdown, the analyst warned of potential supply shortages for Australia and the U.S. and U.K.

With electric vehicles making up only 3% of the global car market last year, analyst WoodMac says battery packs need to be cheaper and lighter and range anxiety must be addressed to change the habits of drivers.

Financial newspaper Globes has reported the tender, launched only three weeks ago, is being opposed by the country’s Land Authority, which claims the project could interfere with sand-mining near Dimona.