Highlights

Photovoltaics could offer peak generation at times of the year when the nation needs it most, says IRENA, but plenty will have to be done, including upgrading an aging grid and training an army of installers and building energy auditors.

The German renewable energy developer has already identified two potential partners, a beekeeper and a sheep breeder, to exploit 20 hectares.

The U.K.-based analyst has raised its outlook for new PV additions in 2021 by around 23 GW. Due to strong demand, leading module manufacturers are sold out for the first half of the year.

Trade bodies the Africa Solar Industry Association and the African Hydrogen Partnership hosted a two-day virtual conference to discuss the role green hydrogen can play in economic growth across the continent–and how it could drive desalination in freshwater-starved coastal countries.

pv magazine’s updated market overview now lists details for 54 suppliers offering 198 systems, components, or services in the field of large-scale and commercial power storage. Many of the market players highlighted a range of particularly sought-after business models in the information they provided. The most frequently cited in the survey was a business model that increases the share of self-consumption in combination with solar PV plants and peak-load capping.

Academics reviewed the historic price development of lithium-ion batteries and found the accepted model does not accurately reflect the full cost decline and technological improvement which has taken place. With more data points to compare, the team found batteries had improved even more than previously assumed.

Chinese scientists have powered two electrochromic devices with a perovskite solar cell based on a hole transporting material made of poly(triarylamine) (PTAA). The cell has an open-circuit voltage of 1.02 V, a short-circuit current of 22.8 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 78.4%. When solar radiation is higher, the cells drive the electrochromic devices into a dark state, which in turn reduces the light that can enter a building.

The module can be used for residential and commercial PV projects. It is available in five versions with power outputs claimed by the company of 390-415 W and reported efficiencies of 20.0-21.3%.

Having picked up GBP 5.8 million ($8 million) in a series of investments, U.K.-based Power Roll is pushing ahead with pilot production of an innovative new thin film with which it can manufacture both solar modules and capacitors. In the future, the design could also bring the potential for solar generation and energy storage within a single lightweight device.

Italy’s Saipem is planning what could be the world’s largest offshore PV plant — a 100 MW facility located off the coast of the Italian northern region of Emilia-Romagna. The project, whose approval process began two years ago, is expected to become operational by the end of 2025.