African utilities wary of threat from renewables
The rise of clean energy and prosumers, net metering and greenhouse gas regulation all figure among the bogeymen as far as national electric companies are concerned.
Akuo deploys 44 mobile solar units in Madagascar
Each unit contains 200 pre-assembled and pre-wired photovoltaic panels and can be deployed in 30 minutes.
Fraunhofer IMWS aims to make it possible to predict reliability and service life of inverters and batteries
The German research institute wants to develop an efficient and reliable methodology, which could contribute to considerable cost reductions in photovoltaic generation – both for manufacturers and operators.
Rectangular aluminum fins for PV module cooling
Scientists in Pakistan have proposed a new passive cooling technique which they claim can improve a module’s open-circuit voltage by up to 12.97% and its efficiency by up to 2.08%.
UK enters the solar space race
The government has commissioned a study into the feasibility of generating solar power in space and beaming the energy down to earth now that commercial space launches have changed the rules of the game.
First green bond issued on Kazakh exchange
The Asian Development Bank has added Kazakhstan to the list of nations where it is issuing bonds denominated in local currencies as an alternative for investors to having to use international lenders.
New tech to apply perovskite thin-film layers to conventional solar panels
According to its creator, Swedish start-up Evolar, the new technology can be applied to existing production lines for crystalline silicon modules and increase a product’s efficiency by around 5%.
CEA-INES: ‘It is necessary and urgent to redefine system thinking about materials use in the PV industry’
CEA-INES, the French National Institute for Solar Energy, is gearing up to host the fourth edition of its ECO-PV workshop. Originally scheduled to be held this spring, Covid-19 has seen it pushed back to March 2021. Experts in the field of solar sustainability will present on, and discuss, “Photovoltaics: towards a sustainable industry”, with topics ranging from recycling, lifecycle assessment and European policy to manufacturing and the circular economy. In an interview, the institute speaks to pv magazine about the current state of solar sustainability and its goals for future work.
More land restrictions for solar in Taiwan
PV developers will no longer be allowed to deploy solar on salt flats in ecologically sensitive areas in Chiayi County and the city of Tainan.
Form Energy secures $70 million for ‘aqueous air battery’
Form Energy plans to deploy a 1 MW/150 MWh system with a Minnesota utility by 2023.
