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Chinese PV Industry Brief: Trina to build 25 GW ingot factory, Longi reduces wafer prices by 30%

Longi said today it cut the prices of its wafer products by 30% and Trina announced it will build a 25 GW monocrystalline ingot factory in the Sichuan province. Furthermore, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the Chinese PV industry produced 39.92 GW of solar cells in April, and Datang Group unveiled the results of a tender to procure 8 GW of solar panels.
Energy Storage

The Hydrogen Stream: Norway, Finland take the lead in Europe

Plug Power has revealed plans to develop three green hydrogen production plants in Finland, while Statkraft is set to increase its investments in the German hydrogen market.
Markets & Policy

European Energy secures approval for 250 MW solar plant in southern Italy

European Energy, a Danish independent power producer, said it will build its new 250 MW close to a substation owned by Italian grid operator Terna in Sicily. It will occupy a surface of around 200 hectares.
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The role of monitoring in managing power and maximizing returns: Indian C&I segment in focus

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AI or not AI for fault prediction and climate risk assessment in solar plants: misconceptions and facts

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Approaching bankability for grid-scale energy storage

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Geração distribuída em ano de adaptação

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Grid-forming inverters: What advanced grid functionalities should inverters offer?

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Markets & Policy

Spanish PV market exposed to over-investment risk by 2030

New data from Afry Management Consulting suggests that Spain's solar power producers could face prices below €20/MWh before 2030 if renewable penetration continues to increase. Such low prices would render power purchase agreements (PPAs) and merchant ...
Installations

Poland tops 13 GW of PV capacity

Poland added around 4.7 GW of new PV capacity in 2022, according to new data from research institute IEO. It predicts that 2023 could be another record year, thanks to another 6 GW of new solar power.
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Installations

Daikin unveils air-to-water heat pump for commercial applications

Daikin Applied Americas has developed an air-to-water heat pump that can produce 91.2 kW of heat and 23.58 tons of cooling. The new device can be used as a cascade system with water-to-water heat pumps, and can switch between cooling and heating modes, d...
Manufacturing

SPIC unveils TOPCon back contact solar panel with 23.4% efficiency

Chinese manufacturer SPIC Solar says its new PV modules have power outputs ranging from 450 W to 460 W, and power conversion efficiencies ranging from 22.9% to 23.4%.
Manufacturing

Pre-fabricated photovoltaic pavement for urban environments

China-based researchers have developed a model for photovoltaic pavement, achieving a potential electrical output of 0.68 kWh/m2 and an efficiency of 14.71%. Through simulations across 255 Chinese cities, they have determined that electricity potential r...

Press Releases

Canadian Solar’s Subsidiary CSI Solar’s IPO Pricing Announced by the Shanghai Stock Exchange

Canadian Solar Inc. today announces that, in connection with the proposed initial public offering ("IPO") of its majority-owned subsidiary CSI Solar Co.

Enphase Energy and Natec Expand Distribution Partnership in Europe

Enphase Energy announced today that it has expanded its relationship with Natec, a leading wholesaler of solar and battery products, to distribute IQ® Microinverters and IQ™ Batteries across Europe.

Valmont Solar Wins SEAL Award Following Two, First-Ever Industry Certifications from ICMQ and AB Solar

Valmont® Industries, Inc. (NYSE: VMI), a global leader that provides vital infrastructure and advances agricultural productivity while driving innovation through technology, today announced it’s brand, Valmont Solar, a leader in a leader in engineered photovoltaic solutions, has been recognized with a SEAL Product Sustainability Award for its Convert® Single-Axis Solar Tracker.

How does PV Innovative Benchmarking Enterprise Differentiate In The Game Of SNEC?

The world’s most significant solar energy trade show, the SNEC PV Power 2023, was held on 24th-26th May, in Shanghai, China. DAH Solar as one of the fastest-growing PV companies has fully armed with innovative products and has the confidence to stand out among all the competition.

Opinion & Analysis

Featured

Photovoltaic energy continues to set new records in European electricity markets

Gas and CO2 prices continued their downward trend in the fourth week of May, which led to a general downward trend in prices in European electricity markets and several negative hourly prices were registered, which reached -€400/MWh in Netherlands. The notable exception of the Iberian market, which saw a rise in prices, came from the fall in renewable energy production. During the week, records of solar photovoltaic energy production were reached in Germany, France, and Italy.

Smoke from early fire season impacts irradiance across North America

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, presents the solar irradiance data it collected for North America since early May. The province of Alberta saw close to 100 wildfires raging from the beginning of the month and solar asset operators throughout the impacted regions can expect reduced efficiency from both the irradiance impacts and increased panel soiling.

Cell prices slip, weighed down by sustained falling upstream prices

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

New episodes of negative or zero prices in European electricity markets

In the third week of May, negative or zero hourly prices were registered in most of the European electricity markets, especially during the weekend. In the Nord Pool market, the value of -€5.67/MWh registered during an hour on Sunday May 21, is the lowest one in history. For the week as a whole, prices decreased in every market, due to the decrease in demand and gas prices, and also to a higher solar and wind energy production than that of the previous week in several markets.

Biofuels vs. solar electricity for urban mobility

Solar electricity will have to compete with biofuels in the urban mobility landscape. Biofuels, however, have a very low energy productivity per hectare, as well as high requirements for fertilizers, pesticides, and water.

Solar dawn

Frank Haugwitz arrived in China in June 2002 as technical adviser to the solar-focused Sino-German Renewable Energies in Rural Areas Program. He has directly observed the nation’s rise to solar superpower status.

Covid-19

Producing the goods

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) is demonstrating how a solar-powered refrigeration unit and dryer could be self-sustaining and improve food security in Kenya.

African PAYG solar companies have hogged 72% of sector’s investment

The first post-pandemic update on the state of the world’s off-grid solar industry has painted a picture of domination by European companies, but highlighted the potential for new startups in West Africa and an increasing use of PV as a backup to unreliable grid supplies.

Off-grid solar continues to expand

The off-grid solar sector has shown resilience in the face of pandemic-related challenges, with 70 million people gaining access to electricity from early 2020 to the end of 2021. However, the ability to pay for solar energy kits has taken a hit.

AfDB announces cheap loans to back off-grid solar in Africa

The African Development Bank has announced that European and US donors will provide $20 million of concessional loans to support pay-as-you-go solar companies in sub-Saharan Africa.

SolarEdge reports record-breaking revenue

With comparisons with a Covid-hit 2020 inevitably offering a string of positive numbers, there was also little to concern the board of the inverter and battery manufacturer from the returns generated in the last quarter.

Solar job numbers kept on rising in 2020

The latest edition of a clean power jobs survey produced by IRENA and the International Labour Organization has stressed the important role which will need to be played by the public sector if the energy transition’s employment benefits are to be shared equally.

Markets & Policy

Featured

Asia takes the lead on floating PV

Floating PV is consolidating as a growth segment for PV demand, mainly driven by supportive policies and incentives extended by governments across the world. A major reason for this push is the limited land availability in many markets. Despite higher equipment prices compared to ground-mounted installations, developers see the opportunity to save on land and O&M costs. The output can also be as much as 30% higher than a ground-mount PV plant, depending on the site and technology used.

Italy allocates 154 MW of solar in latest renewables auction

The Italian authorities have allocated 368.2 MW of renewables capacity in the nation’s latest procurement exercise for clean energy. Developers have offered a maximum discount ranging between 2% and 2.8% from the auction ceiling price of €0.065 ($0.070)/kWh.

Australia confirms funding for 3 GW green hydrogen project

Australia’s push to become a green hydrogen superpower has gained new momentum with the federal and Queensland governments teaming up with consortium partners to deliver AUD 117 million ($76 million) for a 3 GW renewable hydrogen project.

Gautam Solar to add 500 MW of TOPCon panel production capacity

India’s Gautam Solar is expanding its solar module production capacity to 1 GW by adding a 500 MW tunnel-oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) manufacturing line from Jinchen. The new line will start production by September.

Portugal launches floating solar tender

Portugal will auction off five projects with a combined capacity of 4.5 MW. They require a total investment of around €4.3 million ($4.6 million).

Solar module prices hit 2-year low

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has published a new report focusing on core benchmarks for PV prices, deployment, and imports.

Installations

Featured

Australia builds big

While the first half of 2022 was one of the busiest periods on record for new wind projects in Australia, with more than 2 GW breaking ground, solar got off to a much slower start with construction on 635 MW of new PV projects getting underway. Rystad Energy’s David Dixon attributes this slowdown to high cost and supply chain challenges and a lack of available power purchase agreements.

Challenges, opportunities for agrivoltaics in India

A new study has evaluated the development of agrivoltaics in India, analyzing the challenges and opportunities involved in scaling up such projects, and exploring their potential for commercialization.

CFD tests show wind resistance in vertical rooftop PV systems

Norwegian startup Over Easy has validated the wind resistance of its vertical PV system for rooftops by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Wind tunnel tests conducted by I.F.I. Institut für Industrieaerodynamik GmbH confirm that the system can function without ballast or fastening to the rooftop.

PV system collapses on roof of sports facility in Spain

The mayor of Bilbao, Spain, has attributed the recent collapse of a local sports center’s roof to heavy rains and the presence of numerous solar panels, according to local news outlets.

Australia’s largest commercial microgrid goes online

Australia’s largest grid-connected urban microgrid has been officially commissioned with a new rooftop solar-powered system on Ikea’s store in Adelaide. It already delivers more than 70% of the store’s energy needs and provides grid support for the South Australian network.

Sheep grazing team to reduce solar mowing costs by more than 44%

About 70 Katahdin breed sheep were dropped off at the Oberlin College campus in Ohio last week. They will graze through mid-June, stomping grass and weeding the solar field in a move aimed at reducing operations and maintenance costs.

Technology

Featured

Copper is the new silver lining

As the PV industry scales to annual terawatt-level production to rapidly curtail the world’s emissions, it will become more challenging to continue the cost reduction trajectory. Increasing module production from current levels of 200 GW to 300 GW to several terawatts each year will consume significantly more material resources than the industry currently uses. This will require consideration of the additional materials to be sourced, writes Alison Lennon, chief scientist at Sundrive Solar and professor at the UNSW’s School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering.

KAUST claims 33.7% efficiency for perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell

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. The 1 cm2 device also achieved an open-circuit voltage of 1.974 V, a short-circuit current density of 20.99 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 81.3%.

TSUN unveils new series of microinverters

TSUN’s new microinverter series has an input current of up to 18.5 A and an efficiency rating of up to 97.2%. The manufacturer claims it is particularly suitable for complex installation environments.

Foldable, textured silicon wafers for flexible heterojunction solar cells

An international research team in China has used Czochralski n-type c-Si wafers from China-based Sichuan Yongxiang to build textured wafers with a thickness ranging from 65 μm to 55 μm. They have used the wafers in heterojunction solar cells ton hit efficiencies close to those of devices cells based on conventional wafers.

Japanese group unveils fuel cell system based on green hydrogen, waste plastic

A Japanese consortium is now testing a 100 kW fuel cell system in Tokyo. The system uses green hydrogen and waste plastic hydrogen to provide heat to an industrial building. The demonstration aims to establish an urban hydrogen energy utilization model that combines global and local hydrogen sources.

Weekend Read: Pushing perovskite PV limits

The perovskite solar race is heating up, with a cue of manufacturers forming to test products at the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) PV commercialization facilities, and academics on both sides of The Pond announcing new advances in recent months.

Manufacturing

Featured

Catalyst for an EU comeback

Plans for Europe’s largest-ever PV cell and module factory are taking shape, with equipment orders placed and a projected start date in mid-2024. Enel Green Power has received €118 million ($116.36 million) in funding from the EU Innovation Fund to support the project, out of a total €600 million investment. The EU is hoping it will catalyze further investment in similar projects, and start a high-tech comeback for European solar manufacturing.

Slenergy emerges as new one-stop solar shop for Europe

A new solar company has entered the PV market, pv magazine learned this week at SNEC in Shanghai. The company sells everything from PV modules and inverters to racking and wallboxes.

Winaico launches new 430 W n-type TOPCon solar module series

The compact bifacial glass-glass modules are to be delivered from the third quarter. They are available in two different variants with an efficiency of 22.02 and 21.76%.

Eging releases 580 W TOPCon PV module with 22.45% efficiency

China’s Eging has unveiled a new line of bifacial TOPCon solar panels based on n-type wafers and 182 mm cells. The modules have a temperature coefficient of -0.30% and efficiencies ranging from 21.67% to 22.45%.

Solarge opens first large-scale solar production line

Solarge, a Dutch panel manufacturer, says that its new factory will make two types of lightweight mono-PERC panels with low carbon footprints. It says it will design them to be reused at the end of their 25-year lifespans.

Longi launches 590 W TOPCon solar panel with 22.8% efficiency

The new series comes in seven versions, with power outputs between 560 W and 590 W. The power conversion efficiency ranges between 21.7% and 22.8%

Energy Storage

Featured

Cobalt clings on

Cobalt is key for boosting energy density and battery life, but it comes with caveats: expensive, scarce, and linked to unethical mining practices, wild price fluctuations, and a tenuous supply chain. In recent years, battery manufacturers and automakers have intensified efforts to reduce or eliminate cobalt in lithium-ion cathodes. But sometimes, old habits die hard, as pv magazine’s Marija Maisch explains.

Sofar releases lithium iron phosphate battery for utility-scale applications

China-based Sofar has unveiled PowerMaster, a new modular utility-scale battery based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry. 

The Hydrogen Stream: Namibia to launch $10 billion hydrogen project

German investors have agreed to back a hydrogen project in Namibia, while Plug Power and Thyssenkrupp Nucera have announced separate hydrogen-related deals in Sweden.

Sonnen doubles production capacity for PV home storage systems in Germany

The Allgäu company has expanded production at its headquarters in Wildpoldsried and can now produce around 120,000 systems a year. Sonnen’s move to accelerate expansion reflects the sharp rise in demand for PV home storage systems in Germany.

Enphase launches new residential battery

The IQ Battery 5P works in conjunction with the Enphase Energy System and can be configured for self-consumption, savings, or full backup functionality.

The Hydrogen Stream: NEOM signs green hydrogen deal in Saudi Arabia

NEOM Green Hydrogen Company has secured an exclusive 30-year off-take agreement with Air Products for what they claim will be the world’s largest green hydrogen plant, while Germany’s EEX has launched the world’s first market-based hydrogen index.

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