French solar institute and Enel announce 24.63% efficiency for heterojunction solar cell
The efficiency of the cell, made with a standard M2 wafer, was raised around 0.7% by using an improved busbar-free screen printing metallization process based on heterojunction processes developed with manufacturing equipment provided by Swiss specialist Meyer Burger.
Researchers have a weather eye on how adaptive grid management can raise transmission line capacity 20%
Germany’s Fraunhofer IEE uses weather data relevant for transmission line limits. Two new algorithms have been developed to identify local hotspots and better benefit from over-network use.
Uzbekistan opens tendering process for 200 MW solar park
The project is part of the 1 GW solar program developed by the government with the support of the Asian Development Bank. The solar park will be in the Surkhandarya province, in the far southeast of the country.
Oxis Energy battery cells nearing aviation applications
The English company says its modular solutions are due to undergo flight testing in the U.S. and are ‘three to five years’ from commercial production for aircraft.
Innogy announces 60 MW storage project in Ireland
Several large utility-scale storage projects have already been developed under Ireland’s DS3 program. Innogy says that it now plans to look for more storage project possibilities in the country.
Germany added almost 4 GW of PV in 2019
The German network operator reported around 339 MW of new solar in December. New installations for 2019 exceeded new capacity additions for the preceding year by more than 1 GW.
Republika Srpska to tender 100 MW PV project
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second-largest utility, Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS), is planning the $75.7 million project. The region’s first solar park will be built near Trebinje, in Republika Srpska.
Official statistics show UK deployed just 233 MW of PV in 2019
The country’s cumulative capacity reached reached 13.35 GW at the end of 2019. The statistics also show that 2019 may have been the slowest year for the UK solar industry since 2010. According to the UK Solar Trade Association, however, the official figures released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strateg are based on incomplete datasets and growth, particularly for PV systems above 50 kW in size, should be stronger.
For a bigger battery, just add manganese
Scientists at the University of Southern Denmark working with sodium-ion batteries found that a new electrode material incorporating iron, manganese and phosphorous could increase both the power and capacity of the batteries.
The panel in red
Italian manufacturer Sunerg has developed a solar module for BIPV applications which is said to offer a wide range of options to better match the architectural vision and the design of a building. The 275 W monocrystalline PERC panel is available in mahogany brown, reddish brown, bottle green and black-grey.
