Energy

Torrent Power has signed a deal with the Maharashtra state government in India to set up 5.7 GW of pumped hydro storage capacity, while NHPC, a state-owned hydropower producer, is actively exploring pumped storage projects across multiple states in the country.

More than 20 companies, governments, and nongovernmental organizations have presented EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson with a roadmap for the European heat pump sector, including recommended solutions to overcome barriers to growth.

A research group from Ireland developed a PVT system consisting of a 170 W photovoltaic panel connected to a water tank placed at the backside of the PV module itself. The PVT module is able to considerably reduce the temperature of the PV unit while producing hot water for residential use.

A Spanish-Finnish research team has fabricated an IBC solar cell with an ultrathin black silicon wafer with a thickness of 40 µm. The device is based on vanadium oxide and laser-processed phosphorus-doped silicon carbide stacks as hole and electron transport layers, respectively.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has published a document outlining principles to permit the use of rooftop PV. The new policy replaces a monthly capacity fee for rooftop systems, with a tariff calculated based on an intricate formula.

In the first week of June, prices of most European electricity markets fell and some negative prices were registered, thanks to the decrease in demand and prices of gas and CO2, and to the increase of renewable energy production in some cases. However, prices rose in the Nord Pool and MIBEL markets, with the latter being the highest weekly price, something that did not happen since the first week of November. A record photovoltaic energy production was registered in Germany on June 3.

Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions has supplied two 50 MW seawater heat pumps for district heating at the port of Esbjerg, Denmark. They use CO2 as a refrigerant and will be powered by nearby wind farms. The project will start producing 350,000 MWh of heat per year in the fall.

India’s Lohum has designed a 5 kWh energy storage system in collaboration with MG Motor India, as part of efforts to develop second-life solutions for used EV batteries.

A British research team has investigated the technical feasibility of an air conditioning unit powered exclusively by solar-plus-storage and has found that two 130 Ah batteries charged by two 400 W solar panels are capable of supporting the system during the night.

Endua has installed its first 100 kW standalone hydrogen power bank in Brisbane, Australia. The news comes weeks after the company raised AUD 11.8 million ($7.81 million) to scale the technology.