Technology

Storage specialist Fluence has launched Ultrastack, a battery energy storage system (BESS) for storage-as-transmission assets (SATA). It is designed to help network owners and operators to manage renewables curtailment, increase the use of power lines, and limit congestion.

As efficiency records tumble and devices become more stable, Europe is seeing the beginnings of a race to commercialize high-efficiency perovskite-silicon tandem solar products, reports Valerie Thompson.

RWE has revealed that it has received alkaline electrolyzers from Sunfire for a pilot project in Germany, while the European authorities have reached a deal on the continent’s renewable energy directive.

Property developer Steenoven and an undisclosed construction contractor have started drilling a borehole for a new thermal energy storage system in the historic city of Bruges, Belgium.

China’s DAH Solar has developed a turnkey solar system with a plug-in connection for residential applications. The kit can reach a maximum size of 2,279 mm × 1,134 mm × 32mm and weighs up to 59.8 kg.

Researchers in Italy have used blade coating to develop a flexible solar cell that does not contain toxic dimethyl sulfoxide. They used the cell to fabricate small solar modules with efficiencies of up to 6.58%.

Sandbox Solar, a solar developer and US federal grant recipient, has released a beta version of its software modeling tool for agrivoltaic power plants. It supports the design and optimization of solar panels, as well as the crops underneath.

Data collected from a 30 MW PV project in China’s Tianjin Province demonstrates that n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules achieve a little more than 5% more energy yield than p-type PERC. Analysis by JinkoSolar, which supplied its TOPCon modules to the project, credits the n-type modules’ increased performance to a better temperature coefficient in the project’s hot climate, higher bifaciality and lower degradation.

A European Union-funded project is bringing building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) solutions to eight historical cities in Europe. pv magazine recently spoke with Júlia Pereira, project coordinator for EDP New, about the innovative solutions being blended into the landscape in Évora, Portugal.

German researchers claim to have reduced ribbing effects in using slot-die coating for the production of perovskite solar cells. The results are reportedly the most efficient solar cell built with this technique to date.