Installations

Panels being covered in volcanic ash can cause several problems – as has been seen recently with ongoing eruption in the Canary Islands. The weight of the ash may be too much for the structure to bear, sharp ash particles or small stones within the ash can scratch module glass, and acids or sulfur compounds contained in the ash can cause corrosion on the backsheet.

Spain’s latest renewable energy auction has awarded 3.12 GW of new capacity at an average price of €30.56/ MWh. Capital Energy once again took the largest share, winning all of 1.548 GW that it was competing for, in an auction where the absence of some large power companies was conspicuous.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has been on the back-foot since its destruction of 46,000-year-old sacred indigenous sites last year, costing one chief executive his job and one country a timeless piece of its cultural heritage. Along with the impacts of Covid-19 and stock price decline, the company is seeking to rebuild its brand with improved emissions reduction targets, which will see multi-gigawatt solar and wind installations.

A new study from researchers at the universities of Lancaster and Reading in the UK has managed to quantify the economic boost provided by the symbiotic relationship between solar farms and honeybee hives.

UK based developer Lightsource BP today announced plans to enter the Polish market and develop nine projects amounting to 757 MW, working alongside an unnamed local partner. Lightsource BP says around half of the projects could begin construction next year, and that bringing all of the pipeline to completion would require total investment of €500 million.

It turns out that you can have too much of a good thing, says Mark Byrne of Australia’s Total Environment Centre. Or rather, it’s possible that there is too much rooftop PV at some times in some places. As a result, a range of critical reforms – including the introduction of export tariffs to pay for upgrades of the electricity distribution network – are necessary to allow for the uninhibited growth of solar in the future, he argues.

The shortlisted developers are Jinko Power, Total, ACWA Power, Alfanar, and a consortium formed by Masdar and EDF.

With a rising chorus of voices calling for more solar industry recruits to perform the energy transition, Nigeria already has a skilled base of PV engineers and, with a little help filling the few gaps they have in their knowledge, the nation can step into the breach immediately, as Testimony Gabe-Oji, chief technology officer for Abuja-based installer Green Energy Spectrum, explains.

The modular solar marketplace is growing, especially in Australia where remote mining and agricultural sites appreciate the benefits of compact, movable solar. One new entrant is Western Australia’s CDI Energy with its “Rapid Solar Module”, which CDI founder and CEO Darryl Bower told pv magazine is up to 30% cheaper than fixed axis alternatives.

One PV installer in Wales said he has experienced a 1,000% surge in demand for solar panels as rocketing gas prices have forced small energy suppliers in the U.K. to the wall and created uncertainty in households.