United Kingdom

The British energy company has pledged to raise investment in low-carbon energy – including biomass and natural gas-fired hydrogen – tenfold by 2030 and said it would reduce its upstream oil and gas activity 40% over the same period.

Two local authorities on the English south coast are tendering for up to 250 kW of solar generation capacity and at least 300 kWh of energy storage under an arrangement which should not cost the cash-strapped councils a penny.

Plus, U.K. analyst Cornwall Insight reports the price of green energy certificates in the nation could stay in the doldrums for some time and industry executives consider the upsides of the new virtual PV business.

The government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has drafted secondary legislation aimed at easing the construction of large scale energy storage projects for renewables. Around 100 such batteries could be deployed thanks to the proposed rules, according to the department.

Scientists in the United Kingdom have investigated the formation of cracks in PV cells, confirming that the high temperatures cells are exposed to during soldering for interconnection are a leading cause of cracking. Their findings will aid future research into module reliability and predictions of how cracks are likely to form.

Plus, solar funding is down and Australian rooftop installers are preparing for tough times ahead as one U.S. utility has warned customers to be alert to scammers hoping to benefit from the pandemic.

Scientists led by the University of Cambridge have developed a new method to print a protective layer of copper directly onto a perovskite solar cell, providing protection to the active layer from damage often caused in later production stages. Cells using this layer were tested in various tandem combinations with silicon cells and achieved a maximum efficiency of 24.4%.

Plus, there is hope of a bright new dawn with proposed legislative changes in Europe and the U.S. even as the solar equipment industry hits new lows and cyber attacks reportedly increase in frequency.

Developers from France and Germany and investors with access to cheap U.S. and U.K. finance were among the winners in a 2 GW procurement round which saw Spanish company Solarpack lodge a record-low price for Indian solar power of $0.031/kWh.

Enso Energy and the former U.K. national Green Investment Bank now owned by Australian investor Macquarie, have revealed plans to develop an extensive solar project portfolio across England and Wales that will reportedly include tracker and bifacial technology and will be financed by power purchase agreements.