Utility UTE is planning to resume solar energy development with a new large scale PV project after several years of almost zero growth.

Power purchase agreements may be voluntarily renegotiated by extending the 20-year deals or enabling independent power producers to add more efficient PV components, thus increasing plant generation capacity.

The solar park will be connected to the Soma substation, a piece of grid infrastructure expected to increase electricity access in the country to 60%. The project will add to 30 MW of other solar facilities under development in the West African nation.

A report by the Powering Peace organization states UN missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo could reduce expense and pollution by using off-grid solar to power operations instead of diesel generators. Adding a 200 kW solar system with 200 kW/450 kWh of energy storage would reduce diesel consumption 80% for 10-year savings of almost $2.6 million, states the group.

The exercise, conducted on Longi PERC bifacial modules by Germany’s TÜV SÜD at a test field in China, showed surprisingly higher gains in panels getting light reflection from painted-surface and grassland albedo. It also showed, Longi claimed, bifacial panels operate at lower temperatures than single-sided alternatives.

The devices, developed by a European research team, are said to have twice the energy density of conventional aluminum devices. The scientists used a cathode made of anthraquinone, instead of one based on graphene, increasing energy density.

A 6 MW solar plant and 5 MW/2.5 MWh storage system are set to increase the share of renewable electricity on the Pacific island of Nauru from 3% to 47%. The $27 million project is being supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The first 60 MW slice of the 300 MW procurement exercise attracted 12 winning bids. The French government intends to allocate 200 MW of generation capacity for ground-mounted PV plants no larger than 30 MW each plus 100 MW of rooftop systems.

The Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority has published draft guidelines for the integration of storage in the energy system. The new provisions are expected to come into force at the beginning of next year.

Prime minister Su Tseng-chang announced the ambition and said the new solar plan for 2019-20 will bring investment and business opportunities of around US$7.5 billion.