Germany’s Sonnenwagen Aachen team finishes second, third in solar race
Sonnenwagen Aachen, a student team from RWTH Aachen University in Germany, secured second and third place at the iLumen European Solar Challenge 2024, sharing the podium with Belgium’s KU Leuven team, which took first place.
Construction begins on 200 MW solar project in Argentina
Verano Energy, a renewables developer headquartered in Chile, has started building a 200 MW solar project in western Argentina. The installation is due for completion and connection before the end of 2025.
Cooling bifacial PV thermal solar panels with jet impingement
Scientists created a model to study bifacial PV thermal (BPVT) solar panels using jet impingement and built an experimental setup to validate it. They achieved a thermal efficiency of 62.28%, while electrical efficiency peaked at 11.22%.
China State Grid unit completes first phase of 1 GW solar-thermal project
State Grid Turpan Power Supply Co. says it has completed the first phase of a 1 GW hybrid solar-thermal energy storage project in western China. It is set to generate more than 2,000 GWh per year.
UK capacity additions slow but major project pipeline grows
Government data records 17.1 GW of deployed solar capacity in the United Kingdom at the end of September 2024. New domestic installations are down on the same period in 2023, however, a growing pipeline of major projects with planning consent points to significant capacity gains in the future.
Fraunhofer ISE developing lithium extraction processes in Germany
The ThermIon project is intended to take into account the entire process chain from the pretreatment of the brine to lithium extraction and lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide crystallization to the controlled return of the brine. The new process is intended to be both environmentally friendly and economical.
Is the Mexican government reconciling with Iberdrola?
President Claudia Sheinbaum has warned that the Spanish energy company’s subsidiary in the country will not “necessarily” re-enter the Mexican electricity market as before. New regulations on energy storage batteries in the National Electric System (SEN) could, however, encourage the company’s return.
Researchers analyze wind cooling effect for 5.9 MW rooftop PV array
Researchers have analyzed how wind speed and direction affect the cooling of a rooftop PV plant with 10,806 panels. They say that winds from behind were less effective due to the roof slope and the minimal gap between the panels and the roof, but wind from other directions could contribute to a cooling effect of up to 7 C.
PV panel, battery production up to 45% more expensive in EU than in China, IEA finds
Despite the ongoing implementation of industrial strategies in other countries, the value of China’s exports will exceed $340 billion by 2035, according to the International Energy Agency.
NTPC tenders 1.8 GW of hybrid wind-solar power projects
NTPC Ltd. has started accepting bids from hybrid power generators for 1.2 GW of capacity from wind-solar hybrid projects. The company also has a greenshoe option for an additional 600 MW of capacity.
