French startup offers water heater control to boost PV self-consumption
French startup Ecojoko has introduced a contactor that controls electric water heaters to raise solar self-consumption, with field tests underway since the summer.
Cypriot startup unveils new device to reduce solar curtailment
Cyprus-based Enerthon has developed a smart zero-export control device that prevents PV export losses from curtailment by directing generation to self-consumption. Certification is expected soon.
EcoFlow launches energy management system providing whole-home backup
Global energy company EcoFlow’s latest product, Gateway, is a wall mounted hardware system that can be installed indoors or outdoors and is compatible with third-party inverters and diesel generators as well as EcoFlow’s own extensive product suite.
China’s Datang launches testing facility for PV with 2,000 V system voltage
China Datang Corp. says its 2,000 V solar testing base in China’s Hainan province will validate high-voltage modules under tropical coastal conditions.
New model to optimize desert PV plant cleaning schedule
Scientists have used a CPLEX-based MIP model and tested it on a section of the 10 MW Masdar City Solar Photovoltaic Plant. In their simulation, they assume the use of two robotic cleaners to operate over a 90-day horizon. Total cleaning costs were estimated at $7,987.
Clickcon launches solar PV fence for residential, commercial sites
The German mounting system specialist has developed a new vertical ground-mounted system compatible with commercially available framed PV modules.
BASF begins building 50 MW industrial heat pump
Germany’s BASF has begun constructing an industrial-scale heat pump that will use electricity from renewables to produce up to 500,000 MT of CO2-free steam each year. Commissioning is scheduled for mid-2027.
Scientists report experimental breach of Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit for silicon solar cell
A Chinese-US research group claims to have achieved a power conversion efficiency of over 50% in an n-type single-junction solar cell by inhibiting light conversion to heat at extremely low temperatures. The result was achieved at temperatures of 30-50 Kelvin, which are a few tens of degrees above absolute zero.
China Three Gorges commissions world’s largest PV-CSP solar plant
Hybrid project pairs a 100 MW linear Fresnel concentrated solar power (CSP) with a 900 MW PV facility, delivering 24-hour output and demonstrating large-scale storage integration.
Europe’s largest sodium-ion battery installation goes live
Switzerland’s Phenogy has launched a megawatt-hour-scale sodium ion energy storage system at a commercial site near Bremen Airport in northern Germany. With this project, the Swiss manufacturer is making its debut on the European energy storage scene, backed by ambitions to develop fully vertically integrated local manufacturing.
