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.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that the impact of Hurricane Milton on solar production will be minimal outside the southeastern United States, as the system quickly moves offshore.

There are thousands of extraordinarily good pumped hydro energy storage sites around the world with extraordinarily low capital cost. When coupled with batteries, the resulting hybrid system has large energy storage, low cost for both energy and power, and rapid response. Storage is a solved problem.

Solar powered water pumps are one of the most important ways for off-grid communities to gain access to water cheaply and cleanly. Standards are required to enable this market to continue growing and the IEC is working on the appropriate specifications.

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.

Australia’s SunDrive Solar will join forces with Chinese PV manufacturer Trina Solar to develop “cutting-edge” manufacturing facilities and bring Australian-made solar panels to market at scale.

Harvard University researchers say hydrogen costs are underestimated due to unaccounted storage and distribution variability across sectors, while Kore Infrastructure has told pv magazine that it aims to reach a levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of between $1/kg and $2/kg.

The Vietnamese authorities have approved a new price framework for importing renewable energy from Laos, with base import prices for wind and hydropower set to take effect at the end of 2025.

The Canadian government has put another CAD 500 million ($363.1 million) in its funding stream to finance renewable energy and grid modernization technologies. Canadian utilities, system operators, and industry organizations are eligible to apply for support for projects that help strengthen the grid.

Vision Mechatronics has partnered with JSW MG Motors India to repurpose retired MG ZS EV batteries for industrial use. The initial deployment of the battery is in a Pune-based facility. It uses six modules from MG ZS EV batteries and is paired with an industrial UPS to deliver 36 kW of power.

HeliosLite has developed new aluminum floaters that can be assembled and deployed at an on-site mini factory. It presented a prototype PV system based on the new floating tech this week in southern France.

Researchers in Denmark have found that using a large-scale air-to-water heat pump in solar district heating may significantly reduce its levelized cost of heat. The proposed system configuration was simulated for an existing district heating plant in Denmark and was found to improve the flexibility of the system in response to energy prices.

NHPC Ltd. has issued a tender inviting developers to set up 1.2 GW of grid-connected PV projects, with an option for an additional 1.2 GW under a “greenshoe option.” Bidders must submit their proposals by Nov. 4.

The latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) says solar records were broken across the United States in 2023, as international trade issues decreased and financial certainty increased, driven by the implementation of the US Inflation Reduction Act.

The International Energy Agency says renewables are on course to meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030, with solar accounting for 80% of the growth in capacity.

A team from the University of California Santa Barbara used ultrafast electron microscopy to record photocarriers as they diffuse across a silicon and germanium heterojunction. It is the first time the movement, which lasts picoseconds, has been captured as a moving visual.

The experimental device achieved an open-circuit voltage of 1.21 V, which is the highest value reported to date for highly efficient perovskite photovoltaics. The cell is based on a photo-ferroelectric 2D/3D/2D perovskite junction integrating a 2D ferroelectric perovskite single crystals in the perovskite bulk.

A new policy paper from the African Policy Research Institute (APRI) recommends that Africa adopt a regionalized PV strategy to successfully integrate into the global solar value chain. It warns that without a coordinated approach, individual countries are unlikely to integrate into the global market.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has given the Taiwan Excellent PV Award and Voluntary Product Certification (VPC) to AU Optronics’ (AUO) large-size, dual-glass PV module. The government said the bifacial panel, developed in collaboration with Sino-American Silicon Products (SAS), is notable for its high efficiency and weather resistance.

Researchers from China found that big solar power plants have a positive positive impact on the ecological environment of desert areas. Their testing was conducted at a 1 GW solar park located in China’s northeastern Qinghai province.

Runergy is pushing the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel Trina Solar’s tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) patents, US9,722,104 and US10,230,009.

Rayzon Solar currently has 4 GW of PV module manufacturing capacity and plans to add 3 GW by December, followed by another 5 GW by September 2025. This will increase its cumulative module capacity to 12 GW per year. The company also plans to build a 1.2 GW cell line by the end of 2025.

BlueWave has started working on three agrivoltaic community solar projects in Johnstown, New York, totaling 16 MW.

MCPV, a Netherlands based cell manufacturer, has secured €4.2 million ($4.6 million) of Dutch government support for a 4 GW solar cell plant to be built in the town of Veendam. It has also obtained electricity supply commitments for initial production lines and future expansion.

Researchers from Norway and Germany investigated the influence of impurities in fused quartz crucibles used in silicon PV ingot production. The results suggest that the key factors influencing crucible uniformity are sand quality, sand particle size, and aspects of the manufacturing process.

The US-based long duration energy storage startup has raised more than $1.2 billion to date, making it one of the top-funded players in the space.

The UK government has unveiled a cap-and-floor scheme to kick start investment in long-duration energy storage. The first round of applications is scheduled for 2025.

Western Australian gas utility ATCO Australia has achieved a network distribution blend of up to 10% renewable hydrogen, produced by a solar-powered electrolyzer, for 3,000 homes.

SJVN has allocated 1.2 GW of renewables-plus-storage capacity in India at an average price of $0.051/kWh for firm, dispatchable renewable energy.

Futraheat has developed a 300 kW/1.5 MW heat pump that can reportedly deliver steam up to 130 C and reach a coefficient of performance of 6.2. The first prototype was deployed at a brewery in Sussex.