Australian industrial precinct to host 28 MW/56 MWh grid-balancing battery
The battery will serve the industrial precinct of Newcastle in the Australian state of New South Wales. It will not be directly linked to solar or wind generation but will be intended to charge and discharge directly from the grid in response to disturbances or market signals.
Water-splitting tech to reduce moisture in perovskite solar cells
Italian researchers have engineered a hole extraction layer with water-splitting additives to reduce the impact of moisture in perovskite PV devices. They claim that the method ensured a power conversion efficiency of more than 9% in perovskite cells stored for a month in a water-saturated atmosphere.
New mounting system to integrate small PV into wind farms
Switzerland’s Smartvolt has developed a special mounting system that facilitates the quick deployment of small ground-mounted PV systems at the base of wind turbines.
Innovative PPA debuts in US solar sector
Proxy generation power purchase agreements, which were first used with wind projects, manage weather-related risks by settling energy transfers based on a proxy generation index, rather than on actual metered generation. Operational risk shifts from buyer to seller.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Huge orders for Trina Solar and JYT Corporation
Trina Solar has secured a 4 GW solar module order from US company Nextera Energy and wafer manufacturer JYT Corporation closed deals to supply a total of 1,906,000,000 wafers.
Irish ESB to add 100 MWh of Fluence storage to its portfolio
State-owned utility ESB is working with energy storage solution company Fluence and EPC service providers Powercomm Group and Kirby Group on its first battery projects in Ireland.
Hard carbon for a high energy sodium battery
Scientists in Japan demonstrated a hard-carbon electrode that can greatly increase the capacity of a sodium-ion battery. With further work on the long-term performance, the discovery could make sodium-ion batteries better able to compete on energy density with their lithium-ion counterparts.
SunPower to close module factory in Oregon in June
The US module maker plans to start shutting down production in Hillsboro in March. Around 170 employees are affected by the closure. At the same time, however, Sunpower is examining other options for continued operation.
French developer secures PPA for 5 MW agrivoltaic project
The solar park will host sheep grazing and sell power to green energy provider Enercoop under a 30-year PPA.
Dutch business regulation agency rules network operators lacking capacity are allowed to deny grid-connection
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets has established that the first-come, first-served principle applied by grid operators is the correct approach to manage current grid congestion. The decision was taken to resolve a legal dispute between Liander and an agricultural entrepreneur that was denied grid access for a PV project.
