Utility Scale PV

The green hydrogen plant, which is an equal joint venture between ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM, will produce up to 600 tonnes of carbon-free fuel daily when fully operational at the end of 2026.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that a surge in sunshine has resulted in record-breaking solar generation across several European countries this August, with the trend set to continue for the remainder of the month.

Researchers have covered part of a rooftop solar plant with a different numbers of shading cloth layers to measure their power, current, and voltage. They have been able to identify a point after which the value of system current and maximum power is no longer sensitive to shading heaviness.

Scientists have used stearic acid and a combination of stearic acid and carbon black to increase thermal conductivity in a photovoltaic-thermal system linked to a heliostat field concentrator. From a temperature of 30 C at the inlet, they were able to heat the water to up to 59 C.

Singapore’s Vena Energy and MGen Renewable Energy, the renewables unit of Manila-based Meralco PowerGen Corp., have signed an investment agreement for 550 MW of solar in the Philippines. Construction is due to start later this year.

Nofar Energy has obtained €110 million ($122.5 million) in financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Raiffeisen Bank International to build two solar projects in Romania with a combined capacity of 300 MW.

Researchers in Morocco have examined the effects of an anti-reflective coating on solar panel performance under desert conditions and have found that it enhanced both the annual performance ratio and the energy yield by 2% and 5.5%, respectively. They have also found it to be durable and able to withstand dry cleaning methods under accelerated testing.

EDF Renewables says it has won a tender to build and operate Israel’s largest PV plant, a 300 MW project near Dimona, with a bid under $0.019/kWh – the lowest price ever in the Israeli market.

Researchers have conducted a field study across two growing seasons, growing different kinds of vegetables under three types of modules with 40%, 5%, and 0% transparency. Their work is the first replicated research experiment that evaluates module transparency in an irrigated vegetable field setting.

New research from Qatar shows that east-west-oriented vertical PV installations can significantly help reduce soiling in desert climates. The scientists found that PV power generation can be up to 9% higher in vertical systems compared to conventional arrays.