Belgium’s Flanders region launches new call for solar rebates
The Flemish authorities have allocated a budget of €3 million ($3.3 million) for the first round of its solar rebate scheme. The call is open to homeowners, businesses, public organizations, and energy communities.
Oil company commissions 100 MW solar plant in Argentina
YPF Luz has switched on a 100 MW solar facility in the province of San Juan, Argentina. It says the array is the first phase of a bigger 300 MW solar project.
ACEN issues works packages for 400 MW solar project in Australia
Construction of the 400 MW Stubbo Solar Farm in New South Wales, Australia, is scheduled to start in May. Developer ACEN Australia is launching the tender process for a suite of works packages associated with the AUD 800 million ($536 million) PV project.
Micro-hydroelectric power generator for sewage treatment plants
Japan’s Ricoh has designed a micro hydropower system for sewage plants that could potentially be used in combination with ground-mounted solar or floating PV. The system features a sustainable water turbine that the company designed with micro-hydroelectricity specialist Seabell Incorporated and the Kanazawa Institute of Technology.
Ascent Solar acquires Swiss thin-film solar module maker Flisom
Ascent Solar says its acquisition of Flisom will triple its production capacity.
SMA Solar begins work on 20 GW inverter factory in Germany
SMA says its total inverter capacity will double to 40 GW once its new factory is fully operational in Niestetal, Germany.
Croatia launches rebate program for solar, other renewables, batteries
The Croatian government has allocated €60 million ($65.6 million) in subsidies for businesses to install 80 MW of renewables and 20 MWh of batteries.
Israel introduces storage-linked tariff for distributed PV
The Electricity Authority of Israel has decided to regulate the connection of energy storage systems to low-voltage PV plants with capacities of up to 630 kW. It is introducing a supplementary tariff for PV and storage facilities that share single metered connection points to the grid, in order to reduce bottlenecks on the grid.
Translucent tandem perovskite-perovskite solar cells for BIPV
An international research group has made translucent perovskite solar cells to maintain decent levels of average visible transmittance (AVT) while offering higher efficiency. They tested different module and cell configurations and produced a two-terminal, perovskite-perovskite tandem device with an efficiency of 17.7% at 12% AVT.
Dust removal for solar panels via electrostatic cleaning
A Jordanian research team has designed a cleaning technique for solar modules that uses static electricity to remove dust from panel surfaces. The system features an electrostatic ionizer that reduces attraction between dust particles and their accumulation on modules, improving their energy yield.
