UK installs 5 MW ultracapacitor as ‘sonar’ to detect power grid inertia
Electricity system operator National Grid is planning for a fully decarbonized power network in five years. Following a power outage last year, the operator has taken a pioneering role in finding solutions to the issues of running a grid using only power-electronics-interfaced resources. One key aspect of grid stability, inertia, can be detected using an ultracapacitor.
Kazakhstan’s solar auctions conclude with lowest price of $0.035/kWh
The Kazakh authorities allocated 55 MW of PV capacity in two different procurement exercises. Two projects, totaling 40 MW, were secured by Russian module manufacturer Hevel Solar.
First Solar’s PV module tech completes 25 years of testing at NREL
“Determining how many years a solar panel will last can take, well, years.”
The weekend read: Big, and then bigger
Throughout this year, a fast-moving story has played out in PV module technology, with the introduction of larger wafers and subsequently larger module formats seeing the industry break into two camps, backing either 182 mm or 210 mm wafers. It remains to be seen whether one or the other will become a new industry standard, and both sizes will likely be plentiful on the market for the next few years at least. pv magazine takes a look at how we got to this point.
Spain to hold 3 GW renewables auction on January 26
Through the procurement exercise, the Spanish government wants to allocate 1 GW of PV, 1 GW of wind and another gigawatt of renewable energy capacity with storage.
Maxeon brings its AC module with power of up to 415 W to Europe
Authorized Sunpower distributors and installers in Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, and the Netherlands are now offering the Maxeon 5 AC module for rooftop projects. An Enphase microinverter is already integrated into the product.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Another 50 GW solar module factory in sight
Meanwhile, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) has confirmed that newly installed PV capacity for this year should be around 40 GW.
Scaling up solid-state batteries
U.S. battery developer Solid Power has begun pilot production of lithium metal all solid-state batteries at its Colorado facility. The company says it has also sent out prototype battery cells for independent evaluation, and expects to begin formal testing to qualify its batteries for integration into electric vehicles by early 2022.
Another week, another wave of solar PPAs
Unsubsidized solar keeps moving forward in Germany, the US, Egypt, Italy, the Philippines, France and South Africa.
Global research team sets up database for emerging PV tech
An international research team has set up a new database with crucial data on emerging technologies for perovskite, organic, and dye-sensitized solar cells. The platform also includes information on the best flexible solar cells.
