In its latest monthly column for pv magazine, IEA PVPS provides a comprehensive overview of the recently released fourth edition of the “Best Practices Handbook for the Collection and Use of Solar Resource Data”. The 530-page handbook, developed by IEA PVPS Task 16 in collaboration with NREL, elaborates on methods and models for accurately collecting solar data to plan and operate energy projects effectively.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Elina Kivelä, chief of staff at Sweden’s Turn Energy. She says companies should implement mandatory physical training, daily wellness hours, great parental leave benefits, health check-ups, and a hybrid work model. “This is crucial for balancing family life, something we know women often struggle with the most,” she states.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that this winter brought dry and warm conditions to most of South America, resulting in higher-than-normal irradiance across the continent. The conditions have been particularly dry in the Amazon basin, favoring wildfire activity, and the resulting smoke has reduced solar irradiance along the plume’s path.

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.

Chinese solar manufacturing capacity faces a downturn that is unlikely to translate into growth in other regions, writes S&P’s Edurne Zoco.

The Chinese solar panel manufacturer filed patent complaints against Runergy and Adani Green Energy.

Queensland electricity utility Cleanco has set a new quarterly generation record at its 570 MW Wivenhoe Power Station, which outshines all previous production milestones since the station opened in 1984.

The next five years will witness a transformative shift in India’s energy landscape, positioning the country as a global leader in energy storage innovation, says Saurabh Kumar, vice president-India, GEAPP (Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet), in an interview with pv magazine.

The IEA published its yearly hydrogen analysis reporting that of the 520 GW announced electrolysis projects, 20 GW reached final investment decision, with China leading the way.

The polysilicon manufacturing facility is currently under construction by United Solar Polysilicon near Muscat. It will have a capacity of 100,000 MT.

Gambian utility Nawec is seeking proposals for a 50 MW PV facility planned to be deployed in Soma, south of the River Gambia. The project is part of a broader solar project eventually including unspecified battery storage capacity.

Norway’s Volue has launched an automated trading tool for solar and wind operators covering most European power markets . The Volue Position Closer is a subscription-based tool targeted at renewable energy producers, portfolio managers, and municipal utilities.

Jakson Solar’s Helia NXT R series PV modules utilize rectangular 16-busbar n-type TOPCon cells and have an efficiency of up to 23.34%.

The India-based module producer said its new panels have a power conversion efficiency of up to 23.1% and a temperature coefficient of -0.24% per C.

A report from marketplace operator EnergySage noted that average system costs are declining, and payback periods are improving. It highlighted a recent market share capture from Tesla in the inverter and energy storage market.

Australian electricity generator CleanCo is piloting Australia’s largest grid-connected sodium sulphur battery at the Swanbank Clean Energy Hub project, 45 kilometres southwest of Brisbane.

The novel heat pump concept should enable ready-to-use energy storage even in already existing installations. It features capabilities that easily detect self-consumption of PV energy, maximizing the amount of energy that can be produced and consumed on-site

Canadian-headquartered underground heavy vehicle manufacturer MacLean, will deliver 30 electric powered graders to Australian resources giant Fortescue’s Western Australian mining operations toward a shared goal of Real Zero emissions by 2040.

Researchers have developed a novel passivation process for formamidinium lead iodide perovskite films, which reportedly resulted in solar cells with 23.69% power conversion efficiency, and modules with 21.44% certified efficiency. After 1000 hours, the hetero-polytypic passivated devices maintained 92% of their initial efficiency, outperforming untreated devices.

France-based Solarcloth tested and compared three colored solutions: MorphoColor interference sheets from the German Fraunhofer Institute; ColorQuant interference encapsulants from the German company Lenzing Plastics; and diffuser films from Switzerland-based Solaxess.

An international group of scientists has designed a patented mooring tech and a vertical PV system that reportedly allows the bifacial solar panels to align with the prevailing wind direction to shed wind loads. Depending on a project’s latitude, the system can deliver different power yield.

The preliminary decision on countervailing duties on cells from companies in Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand are lower than some expected for several major Chinese producers.

The Turkish authorities applied an anti-dumping tariff of $25/m2 solar modules imported from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia, and Jordan.

The price of silver has increased over 30% since the beginning of the year, with a particularly strong increase being registered in the last few months.

A group of researchers has proposed a new method for the sizing of PV systems that do not rely on an anti-dump system and operate without the possibility of injecting power into the grid. The novel approach requires an estimate of the annual hourly profile and the minimum power demanded, as well as the use of an irradiance meter and an electrical network analyzer.

Industry body the Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW-Solar) expects around 7 GWh of large-scale battery storage to be added during that period.

Acciona Energía has just launched its second hybrid wind-solar project in Spain, at Villalba del Rey and Tinajas. A new, 19.7 MWp solar field has been added to a 26 MW wind complex.

Analyst Aurora Energy Research estimates battery storage systems cost 10% less than new combined cycle thermal power plants – and could be 29% cheaper. pv magazine spoke to Aurora’s Inês Gaspar about the figures.

The energy company announced plans to invest extensively in large-scale battery business in response to the growing demand for flexibility, adding 500 MW of battery storage annually.

Australian renewables developer and electricity retailer Flow Power will install a 3 MW DC-coupled battery energy storage system alongside the recently completed Cootamundra Solar Farm in New South Wales in a move designed to improve the flexibility of the facility.