Prices for tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar panels continue to fall. pvXchange.com founder Martin Schachinger explains how this will affect the sale of PV modules based on passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) cells.

Economic cooperation between India and Australia may open doors for investment in clean energy technology, but challenges still abound in a competitive global market. Vibhuti Garg and Shantanu Srivastava, of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), discuss the role that public funding and resource pooling could play in supporting manufacturing ambitions.

IEA PVPS is about to start a new format for expert engagement: an Action Group on Agrovoltaics; a collaborative effort to harness the synergy between agriculture and solar energy generation. Through international cooperation and interdisciplinary engagement, the group aims to unlock the potential of agrivoltaics, optimizing land use efficiency, enhancing agricultural resilience to climate change, and fostering social consensus towards solar energy development.

Global solar demand will continue to grow in 2024, with module demand likely to reach 492 GW to 538 GW. Amy Fang, a senior analyst at InfoLink, looks at module demand and supply chain inventories in a market still affected by oversupply.

In a new monthly column for pv magazine, the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) explains how solar and wind are dominating power plant construction.

Acciona Energía has finished building a 458 MW solar farm in Texas – its largest PV project to date.

Researchers at the University of Bologna carried out crash simulations to qualify a novel solar powered 350 kg passenger vehicle for the next edition of the 3,000 km Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC) across the Australian continent.

BloombergNEF says in a new report that solar and wind must drive most emissions cuts before 2030 to stay on track for net-zero by 2050. Its net-zero scenario targets a combined solar and wind capacity of 31 TW by 2050.

The African Development Bank is seeking expressions of interest from consultants to carry out a feasibility study for a floating solar project at a dam in southern Zambia. The deadline for applications is June 15.

Energy Vault and Enel have revealed plans to build 18 MW/36 MWh of gravity storage in the United States. They say that the project will be the first large-scale gravity energy storage in a Western country.

Researchers in Niger have proposed to use photovoltaic energy to power the operations of evaporative cooling greenhouses. The proposed experimental solution uses locally made pads and is reportedly able to compete with commercial counterparts.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) GenCost report shows renewables remain the cheapest new-build electricity technology in Australia.

Amp Energy is pushing “full steam ahead” on the development of a green hydrogen production facility with up to 10 GW of electrolyzer capacity in South Australia, after finalizing commercial agreements for the multimillion-dollar project.

The Israeli authorities have proposed a plan to deploy 250 MW of floating solar and agrivoltaics through four PV plants in the Negev Desert near Ramon Airport.

Japanese power generator Jera says it aims to take the lead in developing the global hydrogen & ammonia value chain with about 7 million tons of handling volume, while Cepsa reveals it is moving forward with its green hydrogen plans in Spain.

The tandem solar cell is based on a perovskite top cell treated with an additive known as 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzylphosphonic acid (pFBPA), which reportedly improves its power conversion efficiency and fill factor. The tandem device also integrates a bottom heterojunction silicon cell made with a 190-μm-thick, 2 Ω.cm, n-type, float-zone, shiny-etched monocrystalline wafer.

Scientists in China have fabricated a prototype of a PV system integrating phase change materials, a thermoelectric generator and thermal collectors. The three technologies are intended to cool the solar panel and increase its power generation efficiency.

The Durable Module Materials consortium (DuraMAT) announced in its latest annual report the availability of new PV forecasting tools, and new research results towards the goal of more reliable PV modules.

Daewoo’s new hybrid inverters feature LiFePO4 batteries. They are available in six variants, with power ratings ranging from 0.5 kVA to 10 kVA.

Conceived by a Dutch research group, the proposed system is intended to store surplus renewable electricity via hydrogen generation and battery storage, with the latter being used only when hydrogen generation is not immediately available. Despite its high initial costs, the system can reportedly offer stable operation.

Silfab Solar is one of seven recipients of US Department of Energy (DoE) funding for projects that will rely on dual-use PV technologies to electrify buildings, decarbonize the transportation sector, and reduce land-use conflicts.

Researchers in China have outlined a new surface engineering strategy to build low-cost solar cells without a hole transport layer. The devices were treated with benzoylcholine halide to reduce non-radiation recombination and achieved remarkable efficiency and stability.

Researchers in China have developed a model to predict lifetimes of heterojunction (HJT) modules made with ultraviolet cut-off polyolefin elastomer (POE) encapsulant. The approach considers factors such as temperature, humidity and UV irradiation.

Researchers have developed a thermal regulation strategy to improve the performance of inverted tin-lead perovskite tech for all-perovskite tandem solar cells. It has an efficiency of 23.4% and contributed to a 27.2% efficiency in a tandem cell while ensuring stability.

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge has announced a new set of dates for for the 2025 edition of its unique 3,000 km solar car race across the Australian continent, along with some regulation changes.

Japan’s Leapton Energy has developed EH-A05, a 20.48 kWh residential battery featuring storage capacities starting at 5.12 kWh, with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

The 17th edition of the German-African Energy Forum in Hamburg this week drew more than 300 participants from over 30 countries. The continent’s green energy transition and how to finance it were among the topics on the agenda.

Zhongchu Guoneng Technology Co., Ltd. (ZCGN) has switched on the world’s largest compressed air energy storage project in China. The $207.8 million energy storage power station has a capacity of 300 MW/1,800 MWh and uses an underground salt cave.

Australian energy giant Origin Energy has revealed plans to build what could be the biggest battery energy storage system (BESS) in the state of Queensland, as it continues the expansion of its renewable energy generation and storage portfolio.

Atess Power has developed a new series of battery energy storage system (BESS) containers. The Chinese manufacturer is offering 20 HC and 40 HC containers, as well as battery-only containers with storage capacities up to 3,440 kWh.