Highlights

The PV projects – tendered under the Central Public Sector Undertaking scheme – will be entitled to government support through ‘viability gap funding’, with the level awarded determined by reverse-bidding auctions for the project capacity.

Large scale PV projects selected in public tenders held by the Turkish authorities will be awarded a 10-year tariff of TRL0.32/kWh ($0.044). The tariff will be indexed to inflation and dollar-euro exchange rate.

The Israel Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Agriculture have decided to implement a pilot research program to assess the feasibility of agrivoltaic projects in the country. The possibility of combining PV and agriculture in a land with limited land availability and increasing energy demand is considered a win-win solution by the government.

The Japanese brand will continue to sell third-party-made modules under its brand in its home market, as it already does overseas, but in-house PV wafer, cell and module production will halt by the end of fiscal year 2022.

National Energy Resources Australia has actioned its instructions from the 2019 National Hydrogen Strategy by investing an initial $1.75 million in 13 regional clusters across all states and territories designed to establish Australia’s global identity in hydrogen technology and expertise.

Long-term observers of solar deployment in Saudi Arabia can point to almost a decade of disappointment. But that is not to say that no progress has been made, and regional renewables champion ACWA Power has built a solid track record. Indeed, recent reforms to the national utility may give rise to new hopes.

Module maker Risen has agreed to buy 34 GW of solar glass from Flat Glass Group (FGG). Both Trina and Goodwee announced strong profit growth for 2020.

A Russian-Italian research group has developed a two-dimensional transition metal carbide, known as MXenes, to collect photocurrent in perovskite cells. The cells were built with an inverted configuration and are based on a nickel(II) oxide hole transporting layer. The scientists claim that the doping technique allowed them to increase the efficiency of the cell by more than 2%.

Masdar is launching a pilot green hydrogen project in the United Arab Emirates. In a recent conversation with pv magazine, two company officials described the project and explained how the hydrogen will be used for road transport, aviation and shipping in Masdar City.

In an earnings call this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk boldly claimed that the company will soon be “the market leader in solar.”