Europe

Two module manufacturers, Systovi and Voltec Solar, plan to join forces to create a bigger player in the French solar manufacturing space.

The system can metallize the front and back sides of silicon solar cells with unprecedented precision and speed, Fraunhofer ISE said. The technology is also suitable for components such as printed circuit boards or chip cards.

Results from PID stress tests can be misleading when bifacial PV modules are PID-stressed from just one side using the foil method in IEC TS 62804, according to a new study by Belgian researchers. An unintended electric field arises between the non-stressed side of the cell and the grounded interior of the climate chamber, which may have the undesired effect of causing additional PID stress.

The country’s energy ministry has revealed plans to build a utility-scale floating solar plant on Lake Boyukshor, where it is already developing a 100 kW pilot floating PV array.

Tesla boss Elon Musk has published the first image of the planned Gigafactory in Grünheide, near Berlin, in eastern Germany.

It has been two years since Fotowatio Renewable Ventures won the bid to develop the 55 MW site and with finance finally secured, the build can go ahead.

EVA films are a key barrier to solar module recycling because of the glues involved in their use. An EU-funded research project is aiming to address the issue, among others, with a circular manufacturing approach. pv magazine spoke to two of the professionals involved in the EU-backed Cabriss project.

Danish researchers have shown that adding 250 W solar panels to all of the buggies in a 50-cart fleet is a profitable investment. With an upfront investment of around €75,000, annual benefits of around €15,000 are possible, they claim.

Belgium is testing its first energy community by giving special status to a solar energy pilot near Brussels. The project will help to create a large-scale legal framework to apply the European Directives to energy communities.

Plus, solar funding is down and Australian rooftop installers are preparing for tough times ahead as one U.S. utility has warned customers to be alert to scammers hoping to benefit from the pandemic.