2023

Australia’s biggest electricity “gen-tailer” AGL is one step closer to energising its 250 MW/250 MWh grid-scale battery at South Australia’s Torrens Island after receiving the tick of approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator.

New Zealand renewables company Lodestone Energy’s plans to develop an initial suite of five large-scale solar farms with a combined generation capacity of more than 365 GWh per annum has reached another milestone with construction beginning on the second of the projects.

Generac says its new zero-emissions SBE line of stationary storage systems will be available in capacities ranging from 200 kWh to 1,000 kWh.

The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) has confirmed the results of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s (KAUST) new perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell. KAUST researchers claim the tech is a step forward from other perovskite-silicon cells they have developed.

Viessmann’s new sub-distribution system links various components and connects them to the power grid. Its Wallbox has a charging capacity of 11 kW (three-phase) and is equipped with a 7.5-meter “Type 2” charging cable.

How many 400 W panels would The Empire have needed to keep the lights on in the Death Star, had Emperor Palpatine had an ESG audit to sign off? How many PV modules would Marty and Doc have needed to fix on the DeLorean to get the flux capacitor fired up? pv magazine and English solar installer Solar Fast are happy to provide the answers…

The French authorities selected 16 projects (58 MW) in the third round of rooftop PV tenders, at an average final price of €104 ($114.30)/MWh, up 15% from the September 2022 tender. The authorities selected seven ground-mounted projects, or 115 MW of capacity, at an average price of €82.2/MWh, up 20% from the last tender.

Indonesia’s PT PLN says it has started operating a 561 kW floating solar plant on the island of Java. The floating array, which is part of a larger 920 kW PV project under construction at the company’s Gas and Steam Power Generation Complex, is expected to generate 1.4 million kWh a year.

CSI Solar, a Canadian Solar subsidiary, is increasing its manufacturing capacity in 2024 by adding significantly more ingots, wafers, cells and modules, in order to meet strong market demand and accelerate growth.

The Viperlab project is a European initiative that brings together organizations that are working on perovskite solar. pv magazine speaks with Eva Unger, Viperlab’s scientific coordinator, about the infrastructure needed to facilitate the transfer of information and technology to the industry, as well as the huge database that needs to be created to serve this purpose.