Winners and prices of Tunisia’s 500 MW PV tender
The Tunisian Ministry of Mines and Energy has confirmed that Norway’s Scatec Solar has secured 300 MW at three sites. It also revealed that France’s Engie and China’s TBEA each picked up 100 MW projects. The lowest bid came in at $0.025/kWh, while $0.034/kWh was the highest offer.
Gauging non-fullerene acceptors for organic PV
U.S. scientists are trying to understand how non-fullerene small-molecule acceptors (NAFs) increase the efficiency of organic PV devices. They claim that methoxy groups embedded in the acceptors could facilitate an efficiency increase of approximately 6%.
Denmark bets on green hydrogen
The Danish government has agreed to provide $19 million in funds for two large-scale hydrogen projects under development on the Jutland peninsula. The two projects will produce green hydrogen for the transport sector from renewables sources. Denmark’s largest energy company, Ørsted, has also announced plans for an ambitious 2 MW electrolysis plant with appurtenant hydrogen storage.
‘You can’t go wrong with solar’
2.5 MW of solar is being deployed at three project sites in Papua New Guinea, with commercial operations likely to begin within nine months. The installations will provide power in the island province of New Ireland at lower prices, while also improving access to electricity.
Greece’s PV tender falls to €0.05382/kWh, as incumbent utility transforms
Greece’s energy regulator has announced the results of the country’s latest round of tenders for renewable energy, which saw the incumbent utility offer the country’s lowest bid for a solar PV project.
Evergen, Solar Service Group to jointly drive large-scale VPP deployment
Evergen, a solar and battery optimization specialist, and battery supplier Solar Service Group have joined forces to connect thousands of residential batteries across Australia. By delivering significant benefits to consumers, the joint venture hopes to boost the uptake of home batteries across the nation.
Tesla to hide ‘solar test-house’ under tents at California site
CNBC has uncovered a recently granted building permit that allows Tesla to put up “two canopy covers” over its new “solar test houses.” Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that 2019 was “the year of the solar roof.”
Oman names (most) contenders in 1 GW solar tender
Oman Power and Water Procurement Co. has named eight of the nine bidders vying to develop twin 500-600 MW solar plants in the sultanate, but the energy off-taker has sown doubt by claiming that the contracts will be awarded to private sector entities.
Vietnam to stop licensing large-scale solar projects
In a newly published policy document, Hanoi has urged regional governments and the country’s state-run utility, EVN, to suspend authorizations for new solar parks until further notice. Around 8.93 GW of utility-scale solar capacity is already approved for development in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
New thermodynamic formula to calculate bifacial gains
An American research team developed the new formula by applying to bifacial cells the Shockley-Queisser triangle, which is used to calculate the maximum theoretical efficiency of a monofacial solar cell using a single p-n junction technology. According to the group’s findings, the triangle can help to clarify the deeper physical principles of the bifacial technology.
