In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that a significant high-pressure anomaly in the Pacific fostered more settled conditions and pushed a deep layer of dryer air over the Western United States, resulting in clearer skies. Whilst coastal regions saw average to slightly more irradiance than normal, Midwestern states including Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Wyoming, received up to 110% normal levels.

In another article of a series, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Angelika Möbius, the founder of the startup Solar AI Twin. She says addressing the gender gap in the solar industry is a complex task that requires a deep understanding of the unique challenges women face. Key barriers include a lack of mentorship opportunities and the absence of professional networks.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, offers bite-sized analysis on solar PV module supply and price trends.

The United Kingdom is playing catch-up with many of its European neighbors when it comes to solar but recent signs have been hugely promising and the nation remains primed for a solar revolution.

In its first monthly column for pv magazine, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) explains how a team of its experts is currently working on the definition of new standards for VIPV systems.

A group of Chinese researchers has made a first attempt to integrate pumped hydro with compressed air storage and has found the latter may help the former to better deal with large head variations.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that global solar cell and module manufacturing capacity grew by around 550 GW in 2023. It reports that around 80% of the global PV manufacturing industry is currently concentrated in China, while India and the United States each hold a 5% share. Europe accounts for a mere 1%.

The US Department of Energy says it is aiming for “clean” hydrogen production costs of $2/kg by 2026 and $1/kg by 2031.

Tongwei, Canadian Solar, TCL Zhonghuan and JA Solar all reported significantly higher profits in 2023.

The Swiss Federal Office of Energy says the number of PV installations registered for subsidies with Pronovo, a Swiss government agency, rose 81% year on year in the first three months of 2024.

Austrian manufacturer Sonnenkraft has developed a terracotta glass-glass module that aesthetically blends in with tiled roofs. It has an efficiency rating of 20.02%.

The Italian government has issued a new decree to completely ban solar from agricultural land. The new provisions will not apply to projects currently undergoing the approval process.

CRE, the French energy regulator, initially planned to allocate 99 MW in its PV tender for non-interconnected areas, but ultimately allocated 49.8 MW.

Scientists in Japan have investigated the impact of seasonal, metereological factors on solar plant performance and have found the average power generation inefficiency reached significant levels. The findings suggest that optimal site for power plants requires careful consideration of meteorological and geographical data.

An “Australian first” demonstration of aggregated flexible demand in residential settings will be rolled out in South Australia, with the state’s principle electricity distributor to deliver smart energy upgrades for 500 households as part of a pilot program to coordinate power usage and support the grid.

The modules are equipped with Maxeon solar cells and a microprism sheet that reportedly upholds a transmittance exceeding 99%. The microprism array is imprinted onto a PET sheet using the roll-to- roll embossing technique.

Researchers in India have developed a new solar module recycling process that transforms lead into less toxic lead monoxide. It consists of three main steps – leaching, precipitation, and calcination.

A collaborative project led by German battery supplier Varta aims to develop industrial-scale sodium-ion battery technology. The final product of the three-year, €7.5 million ($8.08 million) project will be a small series of round cells for electric vehicles and stationary storage systems.

A study led by Russia’s Skoltech and China’s HPSTAR suggests that rubidium and cesium additives could improve the efficiency of hydrogen batteries. Researcher Dmitrii Semenok tells pv magazine that “it is a question of changing the approach to the search for promising hydrogen storage materials.”

Ministers from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have agreed to connect their energy systems. They will lay an energy cable along the bottom of the Caspian Sea to facilitate the sale of green energy to Europe.

Scientists in China have developed a PV-driven direct-drive refrigeration system for electronic device cooling. The proposed system has so far provided low exergy levels, but its costs are much lower than those of conventional vapor compression refrigeration technologies.

The latest Sinovoltaics financial stability report ranking lists Tainergy, Eterbright, First Solar, Era Solar, and TSEC as the top five module makers. There was a slight reshuffling in the top ten, and seven new manufacturers were added to the ranking.

Indian manufacturer VSole has introduced single-phase hybrid inverters 3 kW to 6 kW with power output ratings. The inverters reportedly allow uninterrupted power to the connected loads, with a UPS-level switching time of four milliseconds.

A World Trade Organization (WTO) official and several Italian lawyers recently spoke with pv magazine Italy about the timing of a potential Chinese legal challenge against Italy’s new solar measures, which exclusively provide incentives for high-performance PV modules produced in the European Union.

GCL Technology says revenue and profits fell in 2023 due to losses on certain assets, higher financing costs, and an uptick in R&D spending.

New research from Sweden suggests that low platinum fuel cells for hydrogen vehicles, when scaled up for the same number of cells, may achieve similar or higher efficiencies compared to commercial fuel cells. Their modeling is expected to act as a bridge between material science research and vehicle implementation.

The European Commission has selected the winners of European Hydrogen Bank’s first auction, with bids coming in below €0.50 ($0.54)/kg, while Chile and Namibia have revealed new hydrogen plans.

In a recent chat with pv magazine, Yasser Zaidan, senior sales manager for the Middle East at JinkoSolar, described the trajectory of the large-scale storage business in the main markets of the Middle East.

Battery prices reached an all-time low in India in 2023, led by a moderation in raw material prices amid rising production across the value chain, according to credit rating agency ICRA.

British Gas has developed the Carbon Cruncher tool for the UK market. It contextualizes emissions by comparing them to other emitters.