2024

Spanish consultancy AleaSoft Energy Forecasting recorded negative hourly electricity prices for all but one European energy market it analyzed during the first week of April, including in the Spanish and Portuguese markets for the first time. It also registered an all-time production record for photovoltaic energy in Portugal and the second highest value ever recorded in Italy.

Firefighters in Italy have recovered three casualties following an explosion at a hydropower plant owned by Italian utility Enel. Rescue workers are currently searching for four missing employees who were in the facility when the incident occurred.

Researchers in the United States have investigated the sensitivity of PV inverters to the ectromagnetic pulses caused by high-altitude nuclear explosions during nuclear weapon testing. Their work presents several protection strategies aimed to improve the inverters’ immunity levels.

Texas, the top US state for solar deployment in 2023, is seeing tangible changes to its daily electricity supply, lowering the need for natural gas peaker plants, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Building a domestic solar panel manufacturing industry based on Australian innovation could generate up to 60,000 jobs and help cement the nation’s future as a renewable energy superpower. However, access to capital and focused policies are essential if manufacturers are to reach scale where they can be internationally cost-competitive.

Chinese manufacturer Jolywood is currently applying a laser-assisted firing process in TOPCon solar cell manufacturing that can reportedly increase contact quality and corrosion resistance, while also reducing production costs. Scientists at the University of South Wales have investigated the impact of this production process on the quality of TOPCon cells and have found it “significantly” improve their reliability.

India’s cumulative PV installations hit 75.58 GW at the end of February, according to the latest figures from the nation’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Hansainvest Real Assets has switched on Europe’s largest solar plant – a 605 MW installation in Saxony, Germany. The project spans 500 hectares and operates under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Shell Energy Europe.

MAN Truck & Bus says it will deliver 200 hydrogen vehicles to customers in Europe and some non-European countries by as early as 2025, while Provaris has revealed plans to develop a gaseous hydrogen import facility in Rotterdam.

Seraphim says it will build a new 10 GW solar panel factory in two phases in Guangzhou, with an investment of CNY 6 billion ($829.6 million), while JA Solar has announced plans to construct a 5 GW panel factory in Inner Mongolia.