Solar park powering astronomical observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert
A solar facility with an installed power of 9 MW has come online at the Paranal Observatory operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The PV plant is also intended to power the world’s largest telescope that is currently under construction at the observatory.
World’s third-largest PV system on a stadium roof reaches completion
The stadium of German football club SC Freiburg hosts a 2.4 MW rooftop solar array relying on heterojunction modules provided by Swiss manufacturer Meyer Burger.
Indian Railways launches 2.6 GW renewables tender
The REMC Limited unit of Indian Railways has invited bids to install 1 GW of renewable power projects, with or without storage, for round-the-clock power supply to different zonal railways. It has also tendered the installation of a cumulative 1.548 GW of land-based solar plants near the traction sub-stations across various zonal railways. The projects are to be developed on a build-own-operate basis.
Rising number of grid-connected PV systems shows 2022 could be another record year for Swedish solar
Data from the Swedish association Svensk Solenergi shows some 21,500 PV systems were installed in the first half of the year, with a 90% growth compared to the same period a year earlier. The trade body also expects a substantial upswing in the spring of 2023.
Slovenia announces plan to deploy another 1 GW of solar by 2025
The plan envisages opening the Slovenian energy market to large-scale solar plants and is intended to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.
Oil and gas reservoirs are cheapest options for underground hydrogen storage
New research from Ireland shows that depleted oil and gas reservoirs may be used to store hydrogen at a cost of $1.29/kg. According to the researchers, underground hydrogen storage may benefit from the technological maturity of the geologic storage of natural gas and CO2, which are associated with decades of established knowledge.
Small cracks have negligible effect on solar cell performance
UK researchers have found that crack percentages of up to 11% have a very limited impact on solar cell performance. They also ascertained that hotspots are likely to arise when the crack percentage is in the range of 11 to 34%.
The mobility rEVolution: Rising gas prices supercharge EV adoption in the US
In the US, Volkswagen partners with Tesla cofounder’s company Redwood Materials to recycle EV batteries; in Germany, Volkswagen launches renewables-powered fast-charging EV park with second-life batteries; and Polestar, Mercedes and BMW release fresh sales figures.
Heat pumps ‘grossly underestimated’ technology for Australia’s decarbonization
Interest and investment in heat pumps have surged in Europe, but in Australia the technology has struggled to find a serious foothold. Despite the potential, dodgy technology suppliers and schemes gone awry have left a bad taste in Australia’s mouth, CEO Jarrod Leak tells pv magazine Australia
There’s big money in recycling materials from solar panels
Recycling solar panels keeps them out of landfills, but also provides much-needed raw materials with Rystad Energy projecting a value approaching $80 billion by 2050.
