When are solar panels acceptable on historic buildings?
A study from Sweden seeks to consider how PV could be sympathetically installed on historic buildings. The researchers propose a target-based approach for assessing panel visibility.
Algerian 150 MW solar tender secures final price of $0.069/kWh – and only a third of the capacity
The Algerian Electricity and Gas Regulation Commission has concluded a tender launched in June. The one solar project selected will sell power at DZD8.28/kWh. The authority reportedly only published ceiling prices for energy bids on the day the exercise was completed.
Kosovo preps 50 MW solar tender
The Balkan nation is planning a tender for 50 MW of utility scale solar capacity on a public-private partnership basis with help from the International Finance Corporation. The World Bank’s private finance arm is procuring a technical, environmental and social consulting firm to advise on the project.
PV to address water scarcity
The government of the Philippines will spend $500 million on solar-powered water supply and desalination in remote areas of Mindanao, the second-largest island in the archipelago. Elsewhere, a Finnish study has suggested drought-hit Iran could benefit from renewable-powered desalination.
Eswatini 40 MW solar tender attracts 13 approved bidders
The regulator received 26 proposals overall for a project intended to make the kingdom less dependent on power imports from troubled South African utility Eskom.
Tesla unveils a bigger, better, simpler Solar Roof – at a 40% discount
Elon Musk has officially launched the third phase of his crusade to make a successful solar roof tile, with promises that this time it is going to be a success.
Kalyon Enerji finds Chinese partner for 500 MW module fab in Turkey
The factory, backed by the Turkish government in September, was originally intended to be built with the support of Korean solar manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells. The new partner is China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC). Production is planned to start next year.
EDF secures a slice of UK supermarket Tesco’s corporate solar plan
The French energy giant will provide supermarket Tesco with electricity from 17 rooftop PV installations and two wind farms for a renewables portfolio generation capacity of 59 MW. The groceries retailer has announced plans to install 187 solar rooftops.
Perovskite solar cells need proteins
A U.S. research team has used protein bacteriorhodopsin to improve the efficiency of what it called ‘bioperovskite’ solar cells. The scientists used Förster Resonance Energy Transfer to predict the strength of long-range excitonic transport between the perovskite and protein layers.
Is Eskom turning to solar?
The South African utility has issued a 20-strong tender for 50 kW solar inverters and mounting structures, to be used in four power plants. Although it is unclear whether the tender marks the energy company’s first step into solar energy, the procurement follows the recent publication of South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan. Eskom is reportedly developing a renewables-linked large scale storage project which may explain the need for inverters.
