Going big on back contact
Back contact cell designs can be combined with many other PV manufacturing innovations, to push cell efficiency and module power beyond current limitations. In this pv magazine Webinar, we take a closer look at Chinese manufacturing giant Longi Solar’s latest product, incorporating hybrid passivated back contact (HPBC) cell technology, and a wealth of other innovations.
Solar on atypical, steeply sloped roofs
French company HDF Energy has equipped its new polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel-cell production plant with a 500 kW solar project, by adjusting the PV modules and inverters to fit the sawtooth roof design.
How to make seaports into energy communities with PV, wave energy
Researchers have simulated the operation of seven renewable energy communities in the Port of Naples and found them to offer lower life cycle costs. Using varying capacities of solar and wave energy, they were able to optimize the system to a 90% self-consumption rate. They also offered a scheme for the management of a port energy community.
Spain authorizes 7.2 GW of new PV projects
The Spanish authorities have approved 7.2 GW of new PV projects so far this year, with 3.1 GW authorized in the second quarter alone.
New encapsulant for perovskite solar cells, modules withstands multiple accelerated ageing tests
Researchers in Italy have developed a low temperature a blanket-cover encapsulation technique that reportedly improves the stability of perovskite PV devices. They said the new technique reduces thermomechanical stresses caused by both the encapsulation process and the temperature gradients occurring during accelerated ageing stresses.
SolarDuck, RWE install offshore floating solar pilot in North Sea
RWE and SolarDuck have built a 0.5 MWp offshore floating solar pilot project in the North Sea, 12 km off the Dutch coast. The installation features six interconnected platforms capable of withstanding extreme offshore conditions.
Optimal size ratios for solar, wind-powered hydrogen production
Researchers in Italy outlined a new model for estimating hydrogen production cost as a function of the plant’s component sizes. They tested both PV, wind, and hybrid production of hydrogen to determine the optimal size ratio for the 2030-2050 period. They also found that PV-powered hydrogen may currently achieve a levelized cost of hydrogen of €5.11/kg in Italy, with a PV ratio of 2.2.
Sulzer supplies molten salt pumps for 100 MW solar tower in China
Sulzer, a Switzerland-based fluid engineering specialist, has supplied molten salt pumps for a 100 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) project in China. The facility is designed to provide solar power 24 hours a day.
United Kingdom breaks 16 GW barrier for solar deployment
Revised figures reveal UK solar capacity surpassed 16 GW in 2023, thanks to the inclusion of the newly available distribution network operator (DNO). Provisional figures for the first quarter of 2024 show the pace of new capacity lagging the same period in 2023.
Optimizing electrically conductive adhesives for solar cell interconnections
German research institute ISC Konstanz has developed a new method to measure the contact resistance of solar cell interconnections made with electrically conductive adhesives (ECA). The proposed approach reportedly enables the precise characterization of both contact resistivity and bulk resistivity.
