H-TEC to start 1 GW capacity production of PEM electrolyzers in September
H-TEC will be able to produce more than 1 GW of electrolyzers starting next year. “We installed the first production lines and will have our official opening in September this year,” Maximilian Kuhnert, sales manager at H-TEC, told pv magazine.
Germany: New PV records in July
Energy Charts and Agora Energiewende both report a production of 10.3 TWh of solar power last month. Almost 9.5 TWh of this was fed into the grid. In addition, there were more than 80 hours in July with negative electricity prices.
Enstall takes over Schletter
The Dutch company, which itself was taken over by Blackstone and Rivean Capital, will become the majority shareholder of the German photovoltaic company. Schletter’s previous shareholders will hold minority stakes in Enstall in the future.
New tool to estimate cities’ rooftop PV potential considers roof superstructures
Called SolarNet+, the novel framework is claimed to calculate cities’ PV potential not only by finding the orientation of roofs in areal imagery but also by identifying superstructures such as windows or chimneys. It was tested using areal photographs from Munich and Brussels and proved superior to reference frameworks.
Germany: Value of PV imports, exports plunges 66%
Between January and May 2024, the value of imported solar cells and modules fell to just under €605 million compared to the same period last year, and the value of exported PV products also fell to €216 million. For the first quarter, the Federal Statistical Office reports a drastic decline in modules manufactured in Germany to just under 495,600.
IEA PVPS certifies that floating PV systems have small carbon footprint
Floating systems cause slightly more CO2 emissions than land-based solar systems, mainly because of the additional components for the structure. But overall, they also perform very well from a climate perspective.
Operating heat pumps in residential complexes via reinforcement learning
Researchers in Germany have proposed to use a machine learning technique known as reinforcement learning to optimize heat pump performance and reduce electricity consumption in apartment complexes. Their simulation showed that significant savings can be achieved without compromising comfort levels.
Sales at Wacker Chemie’s polysilicon division fall by 55%
In the second quarter of 2023, the group still generated sales of €513 million from the sale of polysilicon, while this year revenue dropped to €232 million. Earnings fell even more, dropping by 65%.
Soltec announces tracker for concentrated photovoltaics
It will be integrated with Fraunhofer ISE’s micro-CPV module technology, with 36.5% efficiency. A first prototype will be installed in Spain before the end of 2024.
The Hydrogen Stream: thyssenkrupp nucera sees uncertainties in the medium term
Thyssenkrupp nucera warns of possible delays in hydrogen projects, with consequences for producers. Meanwhile, Shanghai Electric seems bullish about the market and its ability to drive costs down.
