Emiliano Bellini
A new module factory in Bahrain
Italian company Ecoprogetti will supply the production equipment to Bahrain-based module producer Solartecc. Output is set to begin in the third quarter.
Netherlands’ largest power provider makes room for more solar
Liander will apply a grid congestion management system in the Gelderland province from the autumn. The measure is intended to reduce the number of solar and wind power projects waiting on new grid capacity.
Kenyan utility launches tender for PV panel factory
The electricity company wants a solar module fab at its Tana Power Station in Murang’a county. The factory would have an initial annual production capacity of 10 MW.
Incentives for small solar-plus-storage in Austria and Italy
Rebates are being offered to homeowners and businesses willing to couple small solar systems with energy storage.
Tender for 15 MW solar park in Oman is a far-from-paltry investment
A’Namaa Poultry is seeking proposals for a solar power plant. The project selected will reportedly secure a power supply deal lasting up to 25 years.
More solar power deals pop up in Latin America
Big clean energy supply contracts have been announced in Brazil, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Casting light on backsheet degradation
A U.S. research team has discovered that backsheets are most affected by cracking and degradation on inner layers, as such areas tend to become more rigid. The scientists have also discovered that degradation is accelerated by chemicals descending from the solar cells’ EVA encapsulant to the backsheets themselves.
Solar for construction
Dubai-based PV developer Enerwhere has come up with a new business model for solar projects at construction sites. Its approach, which is based on short-duration PPAs, involves moving mobile PV installations from one building site to another.
A stretchable, transparent solar cell with 8% efficiency
Korean scientists have unveiled a colorless device made of silicon microwire composites. The enhanced light absorption of the cell, the researchers claim, is due to the re-absorption of light by the microwires, which also benefit from an enhanced electric field.
Lessons to be learnt from Italy’s alleged PV fraud
The alleged resale in developing countries of solar modules sent for end-of-life recycling in Sicily could have an important lesson for the PV industry: select reliable recycling entities to avoid potential trouble further down the line. The PV industry should also avoid another potential risk, that of the illegal disposal of PV waste outside the EU.
