It’s time to bin the false agriculture vs solar debate
With the last incumbent to enter and leave the revolving door of UK prime ministers having caused alarm by reportedly preparing plans to effectively ban big solar on farmland, Harald Överholm, CEO of clean energy company Alight, says politicians need to put discredited arguments behind them and get on with the urgent business of shoring up energy security.
Polypropylene absorber to simplify brine heat pumps’ adoption
German company Mefa Befestigungs- und Montagetechnik has developed absorbers made of polypropylene that are intended to simplify the use of brine heat pumps. The novel technology should make it possible to combine multiple heat sources, including water, earth, air and also ice storage all within a single system.
Large scale PV projects proliferate in Portugal
Analysis from Aurora Energy Research shows around 4.3 GW of solar projects secured grid-connection permits to date in Portugal. Data also shows a record 1.2 GW of solar projects requested generation licenses in the first seven months of the year, smashing previous records.
New industrial plant concept for end-of-life PV panel recycling
Italian startup Tialpi is developing a process to recycle end-of-life solar panels that promises to recover 100% of a PV module’s weight. The new plant design is currently being tested at the company’s facility in the Italian northern province of Biella.
India’s Borosil Renewables buys 86% stake in Europe’s largest solar glass maker
Borosil Renewables signed a binding offer to acquire 100% of Germany’s Interfloat Group in April this year.
Photovoltaic-thermal solar tiles
Germany’s Paxos is currently testing the solar tile in a testing facility connected to an air heat pump. The panel can provide heat and electricity at the same time, while also improving the heat pump’s coefficient of performance by around 25%.
The Hydrogen Stream: Penta-Ocean opens factory exclusively powered by solar, hydrogen
Japan’s Penta-Ocean has opened a new factory powered by a 670 kW PV system and fuel cells. Plug Power, meanwhile, has revealed that it will provide fuel cells, hydrogen storage, and fueling infrastructure to FreezPak Logistics.
Underground heat exchanger to cool down solar panels
Spanish scientists have built a cooling system featuring heat exchangers on solar panels and U-shape heat exchangers installed in a borehole at a depth of 15 meters. The researchers claim that this reduces panel temperatures by up to 17%, while improving performance by about 11%.
Recom launches bifacial heterojunction solar panel with 395 W output
Recom’s newest solar panels feature efficiencies of up to 21.68% and a temperature coefficient of -0.24% per degree Celsius. The company is offering a 30-year power output guarantee for 91.25% of the initial yield.
Banks Group to install 2.8 GWh battery at former UK coal power station
Banks Group’s latest announcement underscores the fact that the UK battery storage market has one of the world’s fastest-growing project pipelines.
