Highlights

The potential of perovskite solar cells and modules is still held back by issues such as stability and efficiency losses when scaling up from cell to module. But Annalisa Bruno, a scientist at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, says most of these challenges could be overcome in the near future, with this technology extending from building-integrated PV to conventional solar projects.

The African Development Fund is helping the Eritrean government to deploy a 30 MW solar facility in Dekemhare, Eritrea. It has launched a tender to seek consultants for the project.

Researchers and project developers throughout the world are increasingly looking at agrivoltaic installations with vertically oriented solar panels.

US-based Salgenx has developed a scalable redox flow battery with two separate tanks of electrolytes, one of which is saltwater. Unlike other flow batteries, the new device is membrane-free, promising big gains at the levelized cost of storage level.

Solar and wind generation are expected to reach 16% of the US grid’s supply this year, doubling the 2018 total, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). By 2024, renewables will account for more than one-quarter of electricity generation in the United States.

The World Future Energy Summit showed that Middle Eastern solar markets are still driven by utility-scale PV, although the C&I sector shows signs of growth. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are the most promising markets for big solar projects, with huge pipelines under development, while Lebanon and Yemen show promise due to chronic energy shortages.

Spain’s cumulative PV capacity under its self-consumption regime hit 5.24 GW at the end of December.

An international consortium led by Italy’s Eurac Research launched the Symbiosyst project to adapt PV modules, mounting structures, and maintenance technologies to the needs of various crops in agrivoltaic installations in different climates.

The Romanian parliament adopted a reduction from 19% to 5% on value-added tax (VAT) on PV panels for use in residential homes and public buildings.

India’s Rays Power Infra has switched on a 275 MW solar plant in Bangladesh. It says it completed the South Asian nation’s largest PV project within the scheduled time frame of 14 months.