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Rules published in the official journal provide certainty on how storage systems will have to be connected to the grid and who will take care of the process on behalf of governmental institutions. The regulations are expected to benefit rooftop PV and up-to-1 MW ‘unlicensed’ projects

Scientists at Australia’s University of Queensland have set a new world efficiency record for a quantum dot solar cell. The group fabricated a 0.1cm² device from a perovskite material and measured power conversion efficiency at 16.6%. The record has been verified by the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

An international research group has analyzed the visual impact of PV facades on buildings which include crop cultivation. Architects, PV specialists and farmers were surveyed and the results showed broad acceptance of such projects.

Japanese researchers have developed a new water-splitting technology based on a photoelectrochemical system made with titanium dioxide and cobalt. Cobalt is said to be a solid alternative to noble metals such as gold and silver to improve the light-absorbing properties of titanium dioxide used for water oxidation.

The oil giant says it will use the electricity provided by two 50 MW batteries to optimize the integration of renewables nearby. The task will be undertaken by the group’s Limejump unit. The energy storage units are set to be operational this year.

A scheme to install solar lighting and household power, as well as biogas and solar cookers and larger PV plants, has already driven deployment of more than 1.2 million systems. Now the government wants more partners to join the program.

Bifacial solar module technology will find beneficial application in a significant number of solar energy power plants, according to a technical assessment conducted by ArcVera Renewables. While advertised 25% or greater gains in energy yield are unlikely for most projects, typical project energy production gains are 3-10%. Analysis finds that many projects under the scrutiny of informed technical due diligence, proper measurement and site design, will reap meaningful net present value. Although financing institutions have recently not awarded significant debt financing value to bifacial projects, full credit for bifacial benefits are expected to accrue rapidly, as experience and market penetration increases.

With the new decade, pv magazine brings forth yet another energy storage highlights. Approximately two weeks of work went into sifting through this year’s 22 highlights submissions, conducting research, and preparing them for the jury. Once again, this year’s work was crowned by the moderation of the jury meeting, in which six leading industry experts discussed the technologies and solutions. Differing from previous years, the jurors have selected the top five “Gigawatt” winners, followed by five “Megawatt” winners, and a series of “Finalists” which will be published in the coming weeks, leading up to Energy Storage Europe.

Texan start-up Yotta Energy has a potential solution for residential solar-plus-storage. Will the micro-storage company become the next SolarEdge or Enphase or suffer the fate of JLM Energy? And whatever happened to SolPad?

The PexaQuote software is said to allow both parties to a power purchase agreement to identify the best structure and price for a deal within seconds. The platform provides price indices, a deal tracker and a quote service.