Markets

Our pv magazine newshounds are walking the floors in Munich today to bring you all the developments at Intersolar Europe 2024.

SMA Solar Technology AG is significantly lowering its forecast for the current fiscal year. Accordingly, sales are expected to be between €1.55 and €1.7 billion instead of between €1.95 and €2.22 billion. The new EBITDA target is €80 to €130 million instead of €220 to €290 million.

The windows, composed of glass-glass BIPV panels with thermal and acoustic insulation, are designed for use on building exteriors. They can generate between 150 and 225 W/m2. While currently manufactured and marketed in Spain, they may soon be available in Germany.

State-owned Nepal Electricity Authority is requesting proposals for the development of grid-connected solar projects across the country. The maximum total capacity available under the tender is 800 MW. The deadline to submit proposals is July 9.

Reliable assessment of the local solar radiation resource is a major component of large-scale PV power plant project development and financing. This assessment is usually based on the assumption that the long-term average annual solar radiation from previous years is not significantly different from the expected future solar resource availability. In many areas of the globe, the solar radiation availability in 2023 was considerably higher (up to 10-12%) than the long-term average, and this might be overshadowing the fact that a large fraction of utility-scale PV power plants is undeperforming.

Wood Mackenzie reported large growth in Q1 year-over-year for grid-scale storage and residential storage in the USA, while commercial and industrial storage slowed.

Alongside the new lawsuit, which has been filed in Germany, Maxeon has announced it is appealing a preliminary injunction decision recently made by a court in the Netherlands over an ongoing patent dispute with Aiko.

The new photovoltaic-thermal module, presented for the first time on the first day of Intersolar 2024, has a record electrical efficiency of 26.6% and thermal efficiency of 53.4%. The electrical output of the module with 6cm x 10cm M6 cells is 433 W.

Enormous quantities of raw materials, such as copper and aluminum cables, are required for energy system conversion when connecting renewable generators to the grid. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE sees a huge potential for savings with higher system voltages and is planning its first pilot PV power plants with this technology.