Installations

A minor concern it may be, compared to the tragic loss of life, livelihoods and biodiversity caused by the bushfires still ravaging parts of Australia, but reduced output by PV systems due to smoke haze is an unwelcome bi-product of blazes that have burned at a scale and ferocity never seen before.

The state-owned electric utility is preparing to acquire seven project companies in China, generating $156 million for the developer and removing a further $385 million of liabilities from its books.

pv magazine’s UP sustainability campaign has investigated the use of lead in PV panels and found, with soldered cell interconnections in particular, viable alternatives are scarce. However, German headquartered manufacturer Opes Solutions has launched a small module for the off-grid market featuring lead-free solder, developed at the request of a customer. We caught up with Opes CEO Robert Händel for a closer look at the module and the challenges and benefits of going lead-free.

The Norwegian hydropower producer has tapped its extensive Polish power purchase agreement portfolio to offer a bankable supply agreement for one of the biggest power consumers in the country.

The construction group, which indirectly owns 67% of the solar developer will pay the funds to complete the $98m sale of two 50 MW solar farms in China to a third-party soon to also be controlled by Shuifa.

PV systems have helped farmers in the Philippines become less dependent on rain. Projects in Camarines Sur have shown pumping water with solar is not only cheap but can also raise rice yield.

Brazil’s biggest lender wants to secure solar power through a leasing arrangement. The central bank expects to buy around 8 GWh of electricity per year for its agencies in the state of Bahia and another 2 GWh in Ceará.

The raised renewable energy ambition has been dismissed by the domestic solar association, which accuses president Miloš Zeman of wanting to destroy the Czech PV sector. In 2019, the country added only 7 MW of new PV installations.

European satellite operator Eutelsat has revealed one of the two solar arrays on its recently launched 5 West B satellite has been lost. Only 45% of the craft’s generation capacity can be operated, hitting the company’s bottom line to the tune of $5-10 million.

The solar facility, near Lyon, will be developed by Engie unit Compagnie Nationale du Rhône. Tests will be carried out for three years at a project intended to demonstrate the benefits of combining solar with agriculture.