Off-grid weekly digest
pv magazine’s weekly round-up examines the latest news from the globla off-grid sector.
Smart Villages launches Energy Innovation Challenge
Off-grid initiative launches competition for solar entrepreneurs.
North America: Commercial applications to lead storage rollout
IHS has concluded that 700 MW of solar systems installed in North America will be coupled with storage in 2018. Representing nine percent of all installs, this is up from 30 MW in 2014.
BBOXX announces Series B funding, continues off-grid gold rush
The DOEN Foundation and Bamboo Finance will focus on off-grid projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Scatec Solar to invest $300 million in Egypt for up to 200 MW of solar
The Norwegian solar power producer is currently developing a 50 MW PV project in the country, where the government is looking to install 2.3 GW of solar power in the next two years.
CEO interview: LONGi forecasts rapid mono wafer cost reduction
Chinese monocrystalline ingot and wafer producer LONGi is predicting non-silicon costs for mono ingot production to drop significantly, to as low as $5/kg by 2018. The producer reports that the rollout of diamond wire technology is having a dramatic and positive impact on costs.
SolarCity launches global microgrid service
U.S.-based third-party owned solar provider SolarCity has launched its GridLogic microgrid service, which will integrate distributed solar with battery storage and load management for discrete areas of electricity consumers. In keeping with SolarCitys business model the service can be provided with little to no upfront cost.
Jordan launches plan to install solar on 6,000 mosques
The Jordanian government introduced net-metering regulations in 2012 that allow PV owners to sell solar power at a rate of nearly $0.18 per kilowatt hour. The country’s mosques are expected to see huge savings and even solar revenues from the project.
EU to raise minimum import price for Chinese solar modules
A year after lowering the minimum import price, the European Commission is set to increase it back to its original level. The weak euro is one major reason for the move.
Schmid promotes PERT over PERC
German PV equipment supplier Schmid is promoting its PERT technology as resulting in significantly reduced light-induced degradation than occurs in PERC multicrystalline cells. PERT refers to Passivated Emitter Rear Totally Diffused (PERT) technology that Schmid can achieve with its Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (APCVD) tooling.
