Switzerland

Swiss manufacturer Meyer Burger says that in August it hopes to begin distributing its new gray solar tiles, which are already being used in pilot projects.

Energy company Axpo wants to build a 10 MW solar plant on an 80,000 m2 surface at an altitude of 2,100 in the Swiss Alps. The Ovra Solara Magriel project will provide power to the mountain railway and a ski area.

An international research team has fabricated a quasi-2D perovskite solar cell with a special kind of phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI) salt to enhance hole extraction. The result is a 23.08%-efficient device that is also able to retain 95% of its initial efficiency after 900 hours.

Ascent Solar says its acquisition of Flisom will triple its production capacity.

A team of US researchers engineered a double-membrane system to minimize chloride oxidizing the anode. Meanwhile, the Spanish government supports Destinus to develop its hydrogen-powered supersonic plane and test it in 2024.

Switzerland says it wants to reduce its incentives for small PV systems to encourage larger projects that use all available rooftop surfaces.

As efficiency records tumble and devices become more stable, Europe is seeing the beginnings of a race to commercialize high-efficiency perovskite-silicon tandem solar products, reports Valerie Thompson.

Swiss researchers have looked at whether storage could be cheaper than curtailment in medium-voltage distribution networks with significant amounts of PV capacity. They considered storage costs, operational costs, grid constraints, electricity costs, PV generation models, and loads.

The Swiss government introduced measures to fast-track permitting and construction of alpine PV in October 2022. It is set to announce a new incentive scheme for these installations in April 2023. pv magazine spoke with Lionel Bloch, renewable energy project manager at Swiss engineering firm Planair, about the new provisions.

Meyer Burger says it will shift all of its manufacturing operations away from plastic.