The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) have approved the new UL 3741 standard.

A group of scientists and companies in the Netherlands has tested a PVT heating concept in a green district and has found that the proposed design, which is also based on underground storage and the use of heat pumps, is technically and economically feasible.

Available in four different products, the series features a conversion efficiency of 20-21.2%. Two of the panels are packaged in a sleek, all-black aesthetic.

According to a report from DNV GL, the North Sea may host around 100 MW of floating solar capacity by 2030, and 500 MW by 2035. The LCOE of offshore PV systems is currently estimated at around €354/MWh but in the future it should be close to that of ground-mounted solar parks.

Taiwan-based Heliartec has deployed a solar facade on a 3D-printed concrete house in Belgium. It said it installed the solar facade with the “circular construction” philosophy in mind.

Researchers in Norway have mapped all cropland areas that were abandoned between 1992 and 2015 and found that the vast majority is suitable for PV and bioenergy deployment. Around 30% is located in Asia, followed by the Americas, with a 28% share, and Africa, with a percentage of 22%. Europe and Oceania had shares of 20% and 5%, respectively.

Iraqi researchers have demonstrated the technical and economical feasibility of using shallow geothermal energy to cool PV systems. They tested two different techniques – a closed-loop system and an open-cycle system – to reduce power losses from 30% to up to 4.1%.

Solar Philippines is planning to deploy several unsubsidized solar plants in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac.

Researchers in Arizona have used the Suns-VoC characterization method for indoor solar cell testing to monitor PV installations. The method can also be used with outdoor distributed-generation and large-scale solar arrays.

Scientists in Canada have created a greenhouse that is exclusively heated by solar panels. The rooftop PV system is not connected to the grid, but is linked to four batteries with a total capacity of 5.56 kWh.