Bangladesh based company Intraco Solar Power has signed a a 20-year PPA and construction agreement with two government agencies, for the development of a 30 MW PV power plant to be located on the outskirts of the city of Rangpur.

A collaborative project between the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has tested a range of multi junction cells in tandem configuration, and achieved efficiencies of up to 35.9%.

Multinational oil company Shell is reportedly assessing the viability of a planned 250 MW solar power plant in the Western Downs region of Queensland, Australia, having received approval for the project from the local council.

Information from the latest edition of GTM Research’s Global Solar Demand Monitor shows that solar’s globally installed capacity is rapidly catching up with that of nuclear, and that solar could in fact grow to more than double nuclear’s current capacity within the next five years.

A team of researchers at the Netherlands’ AMOLF institute has modelled the performance of tandem perovskite/silicon solar cells under real-world climate conditions, and found that the tandem cells are little more efficient than the Si cell alone. The research shows, however, that if correctly optimized, this type of cell could perform at efficiency levels above 38%.

Industry analyst IHS Markit has raised its forecast for global installations in 2017 to 90 GW, representing 14% growth on the previous year’s figures. Continuing demand in China after the June 30th FIT cut is cited as the main driver for the increased expectation.

The Spain based multi-national is building two projects in Mexico with a total capacity of 270 MW. Both projects are expected to be operational by the end of 2018.

U.S. based PV innovator 1366 Technologies, and Korean PV manufacturer Hanwha Q CELLS have announced a new performance record for cells produced using 1366’s Direct Wafer technique. The cells achieved 20.3% efficiency, which has been independently confirmed by Fraunhofer ISE.

SMA has announced the completion of contracts for the operation and maintenance of two solar power plants in Chile. The plants are owned by Atlas Renewable Energies, and have a combined capacity of 180 MW. The plants include both SMA inverters and those of other manufacturers.

Based on new data from China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), Asia Europe Clean Energy Associates (AECEA) has raised its forecast for PV installations in China for 2017. AECEA now expects to see 40-45 GW installed in China before the year end.