The research team found that sodium, contrary to common belief, does not decrease per se indium and gallium interdiffusion, but instead hinders intergrain diffusion by segregating at grain boundaries.

The Dutch solar fair has now taken the shape of an international event, due to the increasing number of big players attracted to the Netherland’s PV market, and the high level of professionalization that has been reached by the local ecosystem of installers and distributors. Although a few uncertainties on the possible changes of the current regulatory framework are suggesting caution, solar across all of its segments is clearly set to become a mainstream source of energy nationwide.

Investments in new large-scale solar energy projects in Spain are expected to surpass €4 billion over the next two years. Meanwhile, the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha is planning to reduce the timeframe for the authorization process for solar and renewables from 12 to nine months.

Last year, the Chinese solar PV module maker shipped 9.8 GW, and achieved a revenue of US$4 billion. Both gross and net profit, however, declined due to lower ASPs, higher polysilicon prices and increased output from OEM partners.

Although the Balkan country has recently approved the construction of a new coal power plant, Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj has said he intends to open the energy market to solar and wind power, an action that was recommended by the EU a year earlier.

The Spanish renewable energy company is building three solar facilities at the Benban complex in partnership with Saudi company, Swicorp. The installations will rely on solar modules provided by Chinese manufacturer, Astronergy and trackers from the Spanish provider, STI Norland.

The power purchase agreement (PPA) relates to large-scale PV projects planned to be operational by 2020. The buyer of the power generated by the solar facilities is Spain’s power provider, Audax. 495 MW of the capacity will be located in Spain, while the remaining 165 MW will be installed in Portugal.

The feasibility study was conducted by France’s Tractebel Engineering SA. The authors of the report concluded that the 1.2 GW solar park is feasible, despite the current radioactive contamination levels in the area.

The production unit of Spain’s five-year idled solar cell maker, Cel Celis has been acquired by Bashmor Engineering. The new investor plans to restart manufacturing activities at the factory in Bembimbre, and to double capacity to 70 MW within a year.

The seller of the two PV projects, both to be developed in the state of Minas Gerais, is Chinese-Canadian solar module manufacturer, Canadian Solar. The €95 million transaction enables the Spanish power and gas provider to make its entry into the Brazilian solar market, after it secured its first large-scale PV projects in Spain in last summer’s auction.