Fifteen-year PPA for 150 MW solar project in US
Plans to build the 150 MW Cabin Creek solar farm are now set to move forward, now that developer Clenera has secured a 15-year power purchase agreement with Basin Electric Power Cooperative.
Adding 50MW/64.5 MWh to Tesla’s big battery in Australia
The Essential Services Commission of South Australia has approved plans to expand the Tesla big battery from 100 MW to 150 MW.
Austria doubles financial support for solar rebates
The government has ramped up its budget for the rebate scheme to €10 million.
Self-cleaning PV system with active cooling tech
An international research group has developed a self-cooling PV system featuring a 250 W 60-cell polycrystalline module and a thermal collector attached to the back side of the panel. The cleaning tech is based on a microcontroller programmable integrated circuit, which controls a rotating DC motor.
New chemistry promises better lithium sulfur batteries
Scientists in the U.S. have developed a new cathode chemistry for lithium-sulfur batteries, which they say promises to overcome performance issues stemming from sulfur’s low conductivity and tendency to react with lithium.
pv magazine video: Higher yields are possible
The first session of the pv magazine Virtual Roundtables Europe on June 9 showed that the performance of PV arrays can be boosted with effective measures – proving it’s more than just theoretical. The evaluation of a portfolio of 70 plants prompted a performance boost of 8.4%. The video of the event is now online.
Floating solar park begins commercial operations in Germany
Developer 7C Solarparken has deployed a 729 kW floating system on a lake near Salzwedel. Power trader Next Kraftwerke will integrate power generated at the site into its virtual power plant.
European consortium bid to bring 25.4%-efficient heterojunction-IBC solar cell into mass production
The EU-funded Nextbase project aims to manufacture heterojunction, interdigitated back-contact solar modules for less than €0.275/W. Solar panels featuring the Nextbase cell tech are expected to have a conversion efficiency of 23.2%, according to the European Commission.
Standing together for systemic change
Recent events have demonstrated the inadequacy of simply not being racist. We must actively speak out in support of non-white colleagues, peers, friends and fellow human beings. We must collectively work to effect systemic change against racism. At pv magazine, I want to use my voice as an editor, and leader of the UP initiative, to stand together with the Black Lives Matter movement and all people of color. I want to actively combat racism using our online and print platforms and global networks, to raise these issues, promote positive change and ensure we represent people of all colors and creeds in our business.
Premature inverter failure – 4.2 GW of capacity will be affected this year, says analyst
U.S.-owned business intelligence firm Wood Mackenzie has attempted to evaluate the market opportunities offered by the repowering of solar projects around the world which feature inverters which are 10 years old – as well as those which will expire ahead of time.
