A British-Egyptian research group has tested the use of hydrogels beads for PV module cooling. The micro-sized particles were saturated with aluminium oxide (Al2O3) water-based nanofluids and placed below the simulated PV panels. The experiment showed, according to the scientists, that the hydrogels beads were able to significantly reduce the temperature by between 17.9 and 16.3 degrees Celsius.

The country’s Ministry of Environment has revealed that five dams have already been identified for a total of 147 MW of projects. The new target is part of South Korea’s plan to become carbon-neutral by 2050.

Dutch startup SolarDuck has developed a triangular structure for floating PV that resembles an offshore oil platform. CEO Koen Burgers told pv magazine that it keeps panels more than 3 meters above the water surface, and claimed that the structure can handle waves and dynamic loads. It will be used in a Dutch pilot project from April.

KTDA Power Company is seeking developers for up to ten small-sized solar parks. The facilities are expected to have a capacity of between 300 kW and 1 MW.

Swiss scientists have analyzed scenarios to predict the role of PV in the global energy mix by 2050 and have found that European entities expect a sharply higher compound annual growth rate than their Asian and North American counterparts. They also noted that the growth scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are more conservative than other predictions.

The Turkish government has revealed the tender’s five-day schedule between March 8-12. It also specified how much capacity each of the 36 cities reached by the procurement exercise will have.

A US research team has improved the efficiency of a blade-coated perovskite cell with a p-i-n structure by reducing iodine-induced charge traps in the films. They used the cells to fabricate a mini module with an efficiency of 18.2%.

The share of silver in the total cost of PV modules has increased by around 5% in recent months, according to US analyst Matthew Watson. He told pv magazine that silver prices are set to rise, adding that the metal will eventually account for an even larger percentage of overall module costs.

Canadian scientists have developed a way to improve the short-term models used to forecast the impact of snow on PV arrays. The parameters include the warming effect of irradiance on the backs of panels, thermal capacity, and irradiance through snow.

The facility is expected to be located in the state of Ceará and to be powered by around 3.6 GW of wind and solar facilities located in the region. The project developer is Australia-based Enegix Energy.