France deployed 707 MW of solar in first nine months of 2019
Solar electricity production increased by almost 9.2% in the January-September period, but installations barely changed from the first nine months of the preceding year.
Masdar seals agreement to develop 400 MW of solar in Armenia
The Abu Dhabi-based clean energy group has entered into a formal agreement with an investment fund to develop 400 MW of PV capacity in Armenia, with a projected investment of up to $320 million.
How solar could save the Mekong
A simple feasibility analysis shows the Mekong River in Cambodia would benefit from floating solar plants coupled with storage, rather than more hydro.
Spain’s Balearic Islands assign 362 MW of solar in auction
The Spanish government has selected 55 solar installations in the procurement exercise. About 256 MW of the projects it awarded will be built on Mallorca, while Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera will host 61 MW, 6 MW and 2 MW of new capacity, respectively.
Star Wars’ Death Star with PV modules could surpass global energy needs by 10 times
EOn has calculated the number of PV modules that could theoretically be installed on the Imperial space station from the popular film series. It concluded that even a small version of the station would be able to provide enough solar power to supply 2.5 billion households on Earth.
Japanese researchers explain why organic solar cells are damaged by UV light
Scientists have observed that the efficiency of an organic PV device decreases by around 50% when it is exposed to 100-h light irradiation. They attributed this loss to increased resistance of the organic semiconductor layer.
URE to build 193 MW solar park in Taiwan
The Taiwanese PV manufacturer said the project will be the largest solar installation on the island. Construction is scheduled to being near the city of Tainan in the second half of 2020.
Is it worth increasing cell efficiency? A new metric tells you when
A group of scientists is proposing a new metric – the value of efficiency – to calculate the maximum allowable cost to increase a cell’s efficiency and improve the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The researchers expect that more regional diversification may be seen at the global level in the years to come, with the proposed metric offering higher values in North America, Central and Northern Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Pacifico Energy raises $265.6m with new PV investment fund, picks up 35 MW project in Japan
The Tokyo-based renewables developer has successfully launched its second solar investment fund, which will include roughly 216 MW (DC) of solar capacity across five sites in Japan.
Construction begins at Hydrogen Park South Australia
The transformation of South Australia’s energy system has taken another step forward with early site works at a green hydrogen facility near Adelaide. The plant will integrate what is billed as Australia’s biggest electrolyzer of its kind.
