Four challenges to solid-state battery scale-up
A paper by scientists at the University of California San Diego has outlined a technology roadmap for the development of solid-state batteries – and four challenges to address for the technology to advance.
Study of 100,000 arrays finds proactive O&M preferable
The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory examined five-year data to observe the most common system failure points and how to prevent them. Researchers considered residential, commercial and utility scale plants and found interesting results. While failures cannot be avoided completely, a key takeaway was that close monitoring and timely repair can effectively mitigate the financial effects of failures.
The US added 13.3 GW of solar in 2019, beating new wind and gas capacity
According to data released by analyst Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association, the U.S. added more than 2.8 GW of residential solar last year. Cumulative operating PV capacity now tops 76 GW.
Analyst expects recovery for PV and storage supply chains
U.S.-owned analyst Wood Mackenzie expects solar demand to decline but predicts the market will recover, with the prospects for the energy transition remaining intact.
The best string configurations to avoid mismatch losses from rooftop PV shading
Researchers in Pakistan have evaluated the impact of shading on inverter set-ups to assess PV system performance. Tests were conducted on a 51 kW system featuring SMA inverter topologies but the researchers say the findings could be applied to products from other manufacturers. The results showed the number of maximum power point trackers is important but levelized cost of energy calculations are also crucial to selecting the right inverter configuration.
South African coal lobby loses court challenge over 2.3 GW of renewables
The country’s top appeals court has dismissed the Coal Transporters Forum’s long-running effort to nullify 2.3 GW of power purchase agreements which financially troubled utility Eskom signed with solar and wind developers in the country’s fourth national tender round years ago.
Financing deal announced for 151 MW of PV in Italy
Despite the country’s difficult struggle with the COVID-19 outbreak, the Italian solar market is sending some encouraging signs. Italian lender Intesa San Paolo has awarded a €55 million credit facility to Canadian Solar for a portfolio of 12 unsubsidized solar projects.
UK deals for vanadium redox flow merger and electric vehicles announced
English partners appear to be in demand with a London-based vanadium flow supplier tying up with a U.S. partner just as an automotive design company in Coventry announces plans for electric and hydrogen vehicle production in the West Midlands.
Poly maker pulls out of wafer JV with semiconductor company
GCL-Poly has pulled its commitment to inject US$68m into a 30 GW production capacity wafer fab joint venture established with Tianjin Zhonghuan in the Chinese autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, citing a preference to focus on ‘more competitive products’.
Covid-19 pushes German solar sector to request delay to grid-connection deadlines
Large solar parks awarded contracts under Germany’s tender scheme could lose funding if not brought online on time. The nation’s solar trade body believes the government should quadruple its annual PV deployment target despite an anticipated coronavirus-related hiatus in roll-out.
