Asia

South Korea’s SDN has developed new bifacial solar modules based on M10 wafers. The new products feature a power conversion efficiency of 21.46% and, according to the manufacturer, are the world’s most efficient floating PV panels.

Dutch gas supplier Gasunie says several market participants have reserved capacity in the first salt cavern for large-scale hydrogen storage near the Dutch city of Groningen. According to current planning, the first cavern will be operational by 2028.

China Three Gorges Group has announced its latest PV module procurement results, while GCL-Si has revealed plans to raise CNY 5.8 billion ($812.9 million) via a private placement to finance its expansion.

Kaneka and Itochu have switched on a solar microgrid in Japan. It is powered exclusively by 2.2 MW of PV and 6 MWh of storage capacity. It will sell power to the eight companies operating at the site via a power purchase agreement.

Scientists from India conceived a new system for crop growth in remote areas with no connection to the power grid. It consists of a PV panel, add-on module hardware (AOMH), a battery, step-down DC-DC converters, system power devices, automation, and sensor elements. For climate control, it also comprises a water pump, a ventilation fan for CO2 assimilation, sprinkler foggers, and drop irrigation solenoids.

Sekisui House-W is testing a pilot project consisting of a residential PV system, a small-sized electrolyzer, hydrogen-absorbing alloy tanks, and a fuel cell. The company said the hydrogen storage alloys used in the project have higher energy density than battery storage.

Scientists in Korea have proposed to use an algorithm that simulates the behavior of foraging bees to shape a new grid-forming inverter design. The approach is designed for both grid-connected and islanded inverters.

India has concluded a 2 GW solar tender with a tariff of $0.032/kWh. The winning developers can set up projects anywhere in the country, as long as they are connected to the interstate transmission system (ISTS).

US researchers have developed new integrated halide perovskite photoelectrochemical cells, while Fortescue Future Industries has revealed plans to acquire a hydrogen project from Nikola in Arizona.

China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) says the nation installed 78.42 GW of solar in the first six months of this year, bringing it to nearly 470 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity by the end of June.