The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy has issued an expression of interest to pre-qualify developers for two 5 MW solar plants. The facilities will be on the islands of Sal and São Vicente.

Scientists at the Beijing Institute of Technology have identified the most suitable areas for solar parks in the Chinese capital using a geographical information system and a new multi-criteria decision-making technique: the ‘best-worst’ method. They claim the approach can help establish technically and economically viable projects.

A research team from the University of Huddersfield used electron microscopy to analyze micro-cracks in 4,000 polycrystalline silicon solar cell samples. The results showed power losses may vary from 0.9-42.8%, and increased temperatures due to micro-cracking may favor the formation of permanent hot spots in the cells.

Scientists at Monash University claim to have developed the world’s most efficient lithium-sulfur battery. They say the new device could enable an electric vehicle to drive more than 1,000km on a single charge.

Researchers at the American Institute of Physics have used the clear-sky irradiance model developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to measure the degradation rates of solar panels at a testing field in Germany over five years. The scientists say the model, when combined with real-world data, offers an efficient tool to evaluate the aging of PV technology.

The Brazilian president said the potential introduction of a grid fee for net metered solar systems will be eliminated thanks to an urgent ad-hoc decree expected to be approved soon by parliament. The proposed ‘solar tax’ would have affected all new PV installations with a generation capacity of no larger than 5 MW under Brazil’s net metering regime.

Sustainable Energy Development Authority figures show the country saw around 94 MW of new rooftop generation capacity added in the first 11 months of last year. That compares to less than 14 MW in the previous three years.

The Italian manufacturer said the product is based on a technical solution previously used for power downgrading. The device is said to be ideal for projects at altitudes greater than 1,000m.

Following its decision to switch from fixed feed-in tariffs to reverse auction bidding for the setting of solar incentives, the Vietnamese government has decided to devote the first two pilot auctions to floating PV. A first procurement exercise, for a project which could reach 100 MW of generation capacity, will be held this year.

Researchers in Denmark have developed water-based nanofibers coated with a biological PV substance which can be easily injected into the body. The developers say excitable cells in the heart and brain could be regenerated by being electrically stimulated with the solution.