Utility Scale PV

The solar energy industry continues to innovate, striving to improve the efficiency and reliability of photovoltaic systems. One of the most promising advancements is the development of bifacial modules combined with tracking systems. These technologies aim to capture more sunlight and convert it into electricity, making solar energy more effective and affordable. IEA PVPS Task 13 is at the forefront of this innovation, working to enhance the performance and reliability of PV systems. This article explores the concept of bifacial tracking, its advantages, challenges, market developments, and the significant contributions of IEA PVPS Task 13.

Rabot Charge, a German renewable energy supplier, says the average spot electricity price in August rose slightly from July to €0.082 ($0.09)/kWh. The increase was due to a slightly below-average share of renewable sources in grid electricity.

Chile’s Sociedad Agrícola y Servicios Isla de Pascua (SASIPA) has kicked off a 3 MW/2 MWh tender for the first solar-plus-storage project on Easter Island.

A new Clean Energy Council (CEC) report highlights a steady recovery in large-scale renewable energy investment and strong ongoing investment in energy storage in Australia.

Conceived by French scientists, the novel system uses ensemble learning and does not require anything more than a commercially available optimizer. Before it makes a decision, the method combines K nearest neighbors, support vector machine, and decision tree learning. Accuracy is reportedly up to 89%.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said the plan intentionally drives development closer to transmission lines or on previously disturbed lands to avoid protected lands, sensitive cultural resources and important wildlife habitat.

The US Department of Energy has announced $62 million for 20 projects to accelerate hydrogen technology, while international researchers have revealed how hydrogen injection into existing natural gas infrastructure could affect 115 million gas meters in the European Union.

The French government says the nation installed 1.05 GW of new solar in the second quarter, bringing the country’s cumulative installed PV capacity to 22.2 GW by the end of June.

Record contracts for difference (CfDs) auction for UK solar results in more than 90 projects securing fixed-price contracts. It follows intervention from the new UK government in summer 2024 to increase the auction budget. Strike prices achieved for all renewables technologies were well below the auction’s ceiling price.

Larsen & Toubro has carved out a renewable business division amid growth in its infrastructure segment.