EU spot market module prices: A wrench in the works
Looking back at the past year, the renewables sector has seen two extremes. In Germany, disparities were triggered in part by the recently passed amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). For solar PV in particular, the pendulum will swing in favor of installers of small systems in the near term, writes Martin Schachinger of pvXchange. For installations up to 30 kWp, the new law has cleared market barriers.
Solliance, MiaSolé hit 26.5% efficiency on tandem CIGS/perovskite solar cell
MiaSolé and Solliance have achieved record performance by optimizing the bandgap and the efficiency of both the rigid semi-transparent perovskite top cell and the flexible CIGS bottom cell.
India joins race to develop high-efficiency solar cells
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is funding research to develop high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells, as well as perovskites.
Financial close for 400 MW solar park in Australia
Bank of China, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Westpac have provided debt financing to bring the first 400 MW stage of the New England Solar Farm to financial close.
The weekend read: The race for green hydrogen
Large swaths of low-cost land: check. Lots of sun and wind: check. The ability to transport green hydrogen cost-effectively to energy importing economies: check. Then you’re in the race to become one of the “renewable energy superpowers” of the low-carbon economy. A growing number of countries are assessing their renewable resources and natural attributes and positioning themselves to become green hydrogen exporters. However, not all are created equal.
New European project to drive 95 GW of solar and 67 GW of hydrogen
A total of 30 major companies from across Europe are laying the foundations to create HyDeal Ambition, a value chain promising to provide 100% green hydrogen for €1.5/kg by 2030, matching the current price of fossil-fuel produced ‘grey’ hydrogen.
Silver prices expected to rise by 11% this year
Silver demand for PV production worldwide is forecast to grow to 105 million ounces this year, as overall demand hits an eight-year high. Prices for the precious metal could reach a seven-year high of $30.00 per ounce this year but, according to the Silver Institute, this level is still far away from any critical threshold that would make silver supply for the solar industry problematic.
UK solar innovator planning unique thin film pilot
UK-based company Power Roll has picked up £5.8 million in investment over the past six months and plans to begin pilot production this year. The company has developed a unique flexible thin-film technology, which promises to combine both solar generation and storage.
Spain introduces EV charging stations using second-life batteries
Spanish companies Repsol and Ibil have launched the first charging station for electric vehicles with energy storage. The system reuses batteries from electric buses.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Tongwei and Jinko team up, as NEA sets new 2030 targets
China’s National Energy Administration expects renewables to represent 40% of the nation’s energy consumption by 2030, and proposed new targets for local and regional government authorities. On the manufacturing side, Tongwei and JinkoSolar announced plans to deepen their strategic cooperation, and Huadian Group has launched its first tender this year for 7GW each of modules and inverters.
