‘More room” remaining for small, medium PV projects in Spain
pv magazine recently spoke to Asier Ukar, managing director & senior consultant at PI Berlin in Spain, about the Spanish solar market, PV module prices, the most common failures in installations, and PV manufacturing in Europe.
Perovskite stability, and the effects of defects
An international team of scientists fabricated perovskite solar cells which retained almost all of their initial 21% efficiency after 1,000 hours under continuous operation at their maximum power point. The researchers credit this performance to their discovery of an additive that served to ‘block’ ions that cause device degradation, and also hope their work will contribute to an improved understanding of the relationship between efficiency and stability in perovskite PV.
New factory in Spain to produce and repair solar modules
The 50 MW facility is located in the region of Navarra and is operated by German specialist Rinovasol. The company buys, fixes and certifies the panels and puts them back on the market, with a new datasheet and a five-year warranty.
Adhesive mounting system for any kind of solar modules
The system, developed by Spanish specialist Alusín Solar, is being tested by Endesa in a 9.8 MW project for self-consumption. The mounting structure is made with aluminum bars that, instead of being fixed to the roof with screws, are attached through a double-sided adhesive.
Lightsource BP builds 1.35 GW of PV in Portugal, 640 MW in Greece
The U.K.-based solar developer has joined forces with Portugal’s Insun to build solar parks totaling 1.35 GW over the next five years. In Greece, it wants to build another 640 MW in partnership with Kiefer TEK.
Solar pavement with conventional modules for the Port of Valencia
Spanish start-up Solum has installed the first solar pavement in a port area in Valencia as part of the strategy set by Puertos del Estado for the complete decarbonization of port areas by 2030.
Spain plans auction to grant grid access capacity to 1.3 GW of renewables
The auction is intended at providing the missing capacity resulting from the closure of the Andorra thermal power plant in Teruel.
ESMC criticises lack of solar manufacturing in Euro recovery plans
The trade body has highlighted a lack of explicit PV industry support in EU member states which already host domestic manufacturers, such as Germany, France, Austria, Belgium and Lithuania, and says the focus on green hydrogen could exacerbate the solar trade deficit with Asia.
Portugal kicks off €10 million call for agrivoltaics
The funds will be used to support innovative agrivoltaic projects and may cover up to 70% of a project’s upfront costs.
Spanish solar parks hosting 13 million bees
Iberdrola has built apiaries at its Andévalo and Núñez de Balboa solar power plants in Spain. The company wants to build more beehives at its other PV facilities throughout the country.
