Ireland signs 109 MW of storage, 232 MW of pumped hydro in capacity auction
EirGrid assigned 7.2 GW of capacity in its latest auction, with 5.4 GW to come from gas power plants. The auction clearing price reached €83.050 ($90.554)/MW per year.
India to annually tender 50 GW of renewables over next 5 years
The structured bidding trajectory of India’s tenders will provide sufficient time for renewables developers to plan their finances, develop business plans, and manage the supply chain more efficiently, says Indian Power Minister R.K. Singh.
Daikin starts building heat pump factory in Poland
Daikin has started building its first heat pump factory in Lodz, Poland. The Japanese heating manufacturer will invest €300 million ($327.2 million) in the new facility, which is expected to start operations in July 2024.
Town in Cyprus kicks off tender for 2.96 MW solar plant
The municipality of Aradippou, Cyprus, says it is looking for developers to build a 2.96 MW solar plant. The deadline for bids is May 12.
South Korea to allocate $185 million for renewables rebates in 2023
The South Korean government says its rebates for building-integrated PV (BIPV) systems have gone up from 13.4% to 15%, but its rebates for conventional rooftop PV systems have gone down from 50% to 47%.
Bigger modules, bigger headaches?
The debate continues over whether super-sized, high-power solar modules are a good thing for the industry and they appear to be here to stay. Vicente Parra and James Whittemore, from Enertis Applus+, consider the pitfalls to avoid when designing high-power solar projects.
IndiGrid commissions first solar-storage project
IndiGrid has commissioned a pilot project featuring a solar panel bank coupled with a battery energy storage system (BESS), at its Dhule substation in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Switzerland to scrap rebates for small residential PV systems from 2024
Switzerland says it wants to reduce its incentives for small PV systems to encourage larger projects that use all available rooftop surfaces.
Greece’s Astypalaia island to build 3.5 MW of solar, 10 MWh battery system
Public Power Corp. (PPC), Greece’s state-owned utility, has won a tender to build a solar-plus-storage project on the Greek island of Astypalaia.
Poly-SiOx solar cell for 4T, 2T perovskite-silicon tandem devices
Scientists in the Netherlands have developed a new crystalline solar cell based on poly-SiOx passivating contacts. The poly-SiOx tech results in a 20% efficiency rating, but 4T tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells based on the poly-SiOx cell can reach an efficiency of 28.1%, and 2T tandem perovskite-silicon devices can hit 23.2%.
