Fraunhofer ISE is leading a project that is developing methods to characterize perovskite-based tandem modules, in an effort to facilitate their industrial implementation. A specially built Wavelabs solar simulator is now being used at the institute’s CalLab PV Modules. 

Italy has secured 939 MW of new PV projects, with Spanish group Repsol alone planning 825 MW of solar development, including its first two arrays in Puglia. Comal and Sonnedix have likewise unveiled new PV projects in Sardinia and Lazio.

With a combined capacity of 4.55 GWac, the projects will power some 750,000 households. The Public Investment Fund is mandated to develop 70% of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy target capacity by 2030.

The new test field includes laboratory and field measurements, allowing PV modules to be evaluated faster and more accurately by combining and comparing indoor laboratory measurement results with those from the test field. The new location complements existing Fraunhofer ISE testing sites on Gran Canaria and in the Negev desert in Israel.

Hungarian company SolServices has published a white paper outlining ways to make solar farms more compatible with nature and wildlife, from insects and amphibians to birds, bats, rodents and big game.

The Malaysian government is developing a new strategy to expand renewable energy use in the country and also boost the domestic renewable energy industry.

The plant, Solar Capital’s third major project in the country’s Northern Cape, is located in Loeriesfontein. Chinese manufacturer Sungrow supplied its SG3125HV PV inverters for the project.

Australian researchers have developed a new microwave technology that could advance solar-cell production by improving manufacturing processes and making them easier to recycle.

Nova Innovation, a leader in tidal energy tech, says it will install Scotland’s first floating PV demonstrator later this year. The company currently has a multi-megawatt international pipeline under development.

Indonesia’s PT PLN says it has started operating a 561 kW floating solar plant on the island of Java. The floating array, which is part of a larger 920 kW PV project under construction at the company’s Gas and Steam Power Generation Complex, is expected to generate 1.4 million kWh a year.