German organizations outline new standards for agrivoltaics
Representatives from 15 agricultural and solar businesses, research entities, and certification bodies in Germany have developed DIN SPEC 91434, a new set of proposed standards for agrivoltaics.
Australia positioned to be ‘battery of the world’
PV and wind could meet global energy demand 100 times over, according to a new report by the Carbon Tracker Initiative. Australia, in particular, is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the transition as one of the few developed countries with vast renewables potential and a low population.
Indian state of Maharashtra tenders 1.3 GW solar for agriculture
Developers have until May 17 to bid for grid-connected, ground-mounted PV capacity that will come up across 29 districts in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The ceiling tariff is fixed at INR 3.05/kWh.
Doping and capping promise perovskite stability
Scientists demonstrated two new approaches to improving the stability of perovskite solar cells. By both incorporating rubidium into the structure of the perovskite, and adding a film of two-dimensional perovskite as a capping layer, they were able to demonstrate a significant reduction in the cell’s sensitivity to moisture. The group says its research will open up new routes to improved performance and stability in perovskite PV.
Vortex generators and glass texturing for solar module cooling
New research from Australia has shown that vortex generators and glass texturing have so far proved to be the most effective solutions among the novel methods explored for lowering the temperature of solar panels.
REC launches 405 W black solar module with gapless design
The new heterojunction panel series features an efficiency of up to 21.9 % and an operating temperature coefficient of -0.26% per degree Celsius.
EU to offer expertise to drive renewables-friendly policy across Africa
The oft-heard industry call for more supportive policy for renewables, this time in Africa, has prompted the European Commission to pledge to work with its continental counterpart on improving the clean energy regulatory environment.
Italian ruling could facilitate more PV development
Italy’s Council of State has issued a new ruling that bodes well for renewables development. The consultative body has clarified a number of principles related to permits, but caution is still required.
Turkey’s 1 GW PV tender attracted, so far, a lowest bid of $0.0248/kWh
The Turkish Ministry of Energy has completed, thus far, only the tender’s first 60 MW tranche, and the four winning bids ranged from $0.0248/kWh to $0.0335/kWh. The other tranches of the procurement exercise will be finalized over the next few days.
How to attract bees into solar parks
According to new research from the U.K., solar parks may help maintain natural habitats for pollinators that could be, otherwise, destroyed by intensive farming. The study also highlights that biodiversity could be both positively and negatively affected by solar parks and associated land-use change.
