Asia

Manufacturing giant JinkoSolar has set another world record for n-type solar cell efficiencies with its TOPCon technology, this time pushing to 25.7%. The new world record was confirmed by China’s National Institute of Metrology.

Singapore-based Sun Cable has submitted its Environmental Impact Statement to the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority. The document reveals the full extent of the project’s enormity, specifically a 17-20 GW solar farm tied to 36-42 GWh of battery energy storage, which is set to be transmitted by subsea cables to Singapore.

In other news, Hydrofuel Canada developed hollow hybrid plasmonic nanocages to create an electrocatalyst for ammonia synthesis from nitrogen (N2) and water (H2O) and said green hydrogen could be separated from this ammonia and sold at about $1.50 per kilogram. Furthermore, Norway’s Aker Horizons and Statkraft are exploring green hydrogen and ammonia production opportunities in India and Brazil, targeting local steel and fertilizer industries.

Tongwei also announced it wants to expand its solar cell capacity to 70 GW by the end of 2022 and 102 GW by the end of 2023.

The floating facility will be built by Japan’s Shizen Energy and will sell power under unspecified conditions to local utility Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd (SAMB).

The facility was built with heterojunction modules and mounting systems provided by German companies Luxor Solar and Next2Sun, respectively. The distance between the panel rows ranges from 8 to 10 meters and the agricultural surface within the rows will be utilized by local livestock farmers as pasture.

Indian group Borosil Renewables is acquiring Europe’s largest solar glass manufacturer. With major sites in Germany and Liechtenstein, Borosil plans to increase manufacturing capacity to 2,600 tonnes per day, making it possible to supply solar glass for more than 15 GW of PV modules from 2025.

As reported by pv magazine, BDO was not permitted access to the paperwork on 11 solar project companies sold by Shunfeng International in 2020 and, therefore, could not offer an opinion on the financial prospects of the business based on last year’s performance either, given the lack of comparative numbers.

Developers are moving fast to meet Singapore’s clean energy needs by establishing overseas solar-plus-storage plants, with a strong focus on facilities in neighboring Indonesia.

The nation installed 12,438 MW of solar, including 10,217 MW of utility-scale and 2,221 of MW rooftop PV, as well as 1,111 MW of wind during the 12 months ending March 31, 2022. The record addition was mainly due to the completion of projects delayed from the previous year.