Debate on land allocation for ground mounted solar heats up in Israel
Conflicts are arising within the Israeli government on how much land should be further allocated for ground mounted PV installations. According to the local renewable energy sector, more land is needed, inevitably, if the country’s renewable energy targets must be met.
Fully PV-driven system to produce water, electricity, crops
Researchers in Saudi Arabia have fabricated an integrated fully PV-powered system to extract fresh water from the atmosphere. The system uses excess heat from the solar modules to evaporate and condense water that can then be used to grow crops. Part of the water is also used to cool down the solar modules through an active cooling technique.
Masdar-EDF joint venture bid for more independence
The Emerge operation established by the two companies operates on-site solar panels for companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
World’s largest off-grid battery project reaches financial close
A consortium of developers led by ACWA Power has secured financing for the Red Sea project, on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, which is set to feature a 320MW solar array and a 1.3GWh off-grid battery.
Semi-transparent perovskite solar cell with 13% efficiency, 27% transparency
Developed for applications in BIPV, vehicle-integrated solar and smart glasses, the solar cell was built with an ultra-thin, semi-transparent, triple-cation perovskite film and gold nanorods (Au NRs). The device achieved an open-circuit voltage of 1097.1mV, a short-circuit current of 17.11mA/cm2 and a fill factor of 73.12%.
Damp heat–stable perovskite solar cell with 24.3% efficiency
Developed by scientists in Saudi Arabia, the perovskite cell was able to retain over 95% of its initial efficiency after 1,000 hours at damp-heat test conditions. The cell was fabricated with a substrate made of glass and indium tin oxide (ITO), 2D layers, a 3D perovskite layer, an electron-selective layer, a buffer layer based on bathocuproine (BCP), and silver metal contact.
SolarEdge reports record-breaking revenue
With comparisons with a Covid-hit 2020 inevitably offering a string of positive numbers, there was also little to concern the board of the inverter and battery manufacturer from the returns generated in the last quarter.
TOPCon solar modules in MENA
In a short chat with pv magazine, Mohamed Saady Dweik, the head of technical services and product management for the MENA region at JinkoSolar, spoke about the potential of TOPCon tech in the Middle East and North Africa region. According to him, the global demand for TOPCon products may exceed that of PERC panels within three years.
Photovoltaics for multistage flash desalinators
Scientists have investigated how utility-scale solar may be used to power multistage flashing-brine recirculation (MSF-BR) water desalination plants in Aqaba, Jordan. They found the facility would be sufficient to provide the entire city with drinking water. The proposed system configuration comprises a 30 MW solar plant and a standar MSF-BR unit.
Revolutionizing tracker resiliency with Vanguard 1P
In pursuit of unlocking the true potential of 1P and eliminating barriers to utilization, TrinaTracker has developed Vanguard, a new 1P tracker solution designed to conquer the terrain it’s installed on and the wind it will face. In this pv magazine Webinar, Trina Solar will outline the philosophy that went into the design of Vanguard 1P, highlighting how the system has been optimized to perform in a variety of complex scenarios and be installed nearly 20% faster than prior solutions.
