Offshore floating vs. land-based PV systems
A group of researchers from Utrecht University analyzed offshore floating photovoltaic (OFPV) systems to determine reasons for enhanced performance compared with land-based systems. Out of their research, the team developed two regression models to help predict yield advantages when siting projects.
Developer using membranes to increase bifacial solar module yield by 6.4%
Germany-based Solar Kapital has used membranes at three of its PV plants in Greece. It claims that the payback time of the new solution is relatively short.
GCL-SI unveils perovskite solar panel with 16.02% efficiency
GCL-SI has launched a new 320 W perovskite solar module. The company guarantees that the 10-year end power output will be at least 90% of the nominal output power, which decreases to 80% after 25 years.
India’s NHPC to develop 2 GW of pumped storage, 1 GW of solar
Indian state-owned hydropower producer NHPC and Grid Corp. of Odisha (GRIDCO) have agreed to develop 2 GW of pumped storage and 1 GW of solar energy projects.
Solar-driven photoreactors to generate hydrogen on rooftops
Scientists led by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have designed panel-like photoreactors relying on a water-splitting photocatalyst that could produce hydrogen on rooftops or dedicated solar farms. They claim the photoreactors have high economic potential because of their ‘extremely’ low costs.
Germany seeking proposals for 10 GW of solar factories
Solar manufacturers have until Aug. 15 to submit PV factory proposals to the German authorities.
New attempt to build solar cells based on copper silver bismuth iodide
A Bangla-Japanese research group has built a copper silver bismuth iodide (CABI) PV device using an unexplored CABI compound. The scientists applied a mixed solvent-based hot-casting technique to improve the surface morphology of the CABI film and increase the cell efficiency.
Switzerland becomes gigawatt solar market
Switzerland had its best year in terms of new PV deployment in 2022, with more than 1,000 MW of installed capacity, according to provisional statistics from Swissolar. At the end of December, the nation surpassed 4.6 GW of cumulative installed solar capacity.
France backpedals on retroactive FIT cuts for pre-2011, large-scale solar
The French government has decided to cancel a retroactive modification of feed-in tariff contracts signed between 2006 and 2010 for PV plants above 250 kW. Plant owners will not be entitled to receive the full tariff.
Aura Power to install 200 MW/800 MWh battery in Italy
UK-based developer Aura Power plans to build a large scale storage system in Maddaloni, southern Italy. It secured final approval for the project in early June.
