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.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Deanna Greenhalgh, Director of Development at SAS Energy, EDF Renewables UK & Ireland C&I. She says that, earlier in her career, she sometimes felt that her knowledge and experience weren’t acknowledged, believed or expected by others. “I think this was a combination of being both young and female in what historically was a male-dominated industry, where clients, colleagues, and suppliers were more used to interacting with older men,” she states.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that August was an extraordinary month for solar energy production in the Southeastern states, while regions like the Midwest and Northeast experienced cloudier conditions and lower irradiance.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Italy’s regional governments approved 5.1 GW of solar in the first nine months of this year, with Sicily leading by approving around one-third of the total new capacity.

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

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.

Portugal-based Effizency, a developer of sales software for solar PV and heat pump solution providers, has launched a new web-based simulator module that its customers can use to deliver initial price quotes and savings estimates to potential buyers.

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.

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.

The German company said its new products are suitable for PV systems with tilt angles ranging from 0 to 15.6 degrees.

Austrian researchers developed a model to quantify the benefits of vehicle integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) on the energy needs of three different sizes of electric vehicle in the city of Graz, Austria, particularly the effect on battery energy and vehicle mileage.

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.

UK-based Caldera has developed a new heat storage technology that can reportedly convert on-site generated solar power into on-demand heat, thus replacing conventional gas boilers. The system uses a composite of recycled aluminum and volcanic rocks to store heat at up to 500 C and produce steam.

Créawatt unveiled this week a new version of its ultra-light Luxsiol photovoltaic system for zinc roofs. It weighs only 3.25 kg/m2 enabling all types of flat roofs made of bitumen, PVC, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber, or T333/T250 steel sheet.

SEG Solar (SEG), a Texas-based module manufacturer, has started deploying n-type cell production lines in Indonesia’s Kawasan Industri Terpadu Batang industrial park, 390 km east of Jakarta.

The United States continues to set quarterly records for energy storage installations across each key market segment, said a report from Wood Mackenzie.

LG Chem has announced that its Platform Technology R&D team has developed a temperature-responsive Safety Reinforced Layer (SRL), a material which is described as capable of surpressing thermal runaway. The material was analyzed in collaboration with researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea, while the safety verification was conducted in partnership with LG Energy Solution.

Once electricity prices hit $0.25/kWh, disconnecting from the grid with residential solar-plus-storage starts to become financially viable, with sunny places making strong financial arguments. With recent drops in battery prices, the case for leaving the grid has grown even stronger.

While different institutions are making the case for hydrogen production offshore or in proximity to the coast, the European Commission is preparing to move forward with its second hydrogen auction.

There’s a rejuvenated feeling in the UK solar market where a new government is making positive signals and considering key policy changes aimed at speeding up project commissioning. For storage, there’s still serious interest in utility-scale deployment with some significant projects in the pipeline.