First Solar is sitting pretty
The thin film PV maker reported solid year-end 2018 results, with future bookings extending out four years and the fourth of five Series 6 factories already online.
“Spain is the hottest PPA market in the world, but auctions are necessary”
That was the one of the main conclusions reached among 400 attendees at the Solar plants in Spain: development, financing and energy future conference, organized by Soltec and PV association UNEF in Madrid this week.
Swiss researchers claim 29% efficiency for residential CPV panel
The module was developed by Insolight, a spin-off of Switzerland’s École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne. The panel is based on tiny solar cells usually used for spaceflight applications and the limited amount used in the module makes it close to mass production, its creators claim.
Italy tops 20 GW of solar
The Italian PV market grew 7% last year with new capacity additions of 437 MW. Of that figure, only about 47 MW was for installations larger than 1 MW – a clear sign rooftop PV is still driving demand.
SERIS aims for 24% efficiency for mono PERC cell
The Singapore research institute will cooperate with China’s Ruxing Technology to increase the efficiency of its monoPoly™ technology. Through this cooperation, SERIS believes its solar cell efficiency could be raised to 24%, and module power beyond 345 W.
Valoe and Solitek join forces to produce IBC cells in Lithuania
The Finnish PV equipment provider and the Lithuanian PV panel maker will manufacture IBC solar cells at Solitek’s factory in Vilnius with an initial production capacity of 60 MW.
Ardian, White Summit invest in Jinko Power’s 182.5 MW solar project in southern Spain
The €125 million solar park is under construction near Seville. The project was selected in an auction held by the Spanish government in July 2017.
A specter is haunting South Africa, renegotiation of PPAs signed between 2011 and 2012
As national utility Eskom faces a financial and operational crisis, rumors are spreading that the government may ask independent power producers to renegotiate the tariffs of PPAs awarded in the first two rounds of its renewable energy program. South African solar association SAPVIA has already given short shrift to the idea.
Utility-scale PV all set for growth in Belgium
The energy regulator of Flanders has set a provisional feed-in premium of €0.02595/kWh – to be added to the spot market price – for a 1.35 MW solar project under development in the region. That is considerably more affordable for public support than the feed-in premium of €0.078/kWh the VEA set a year earlier for a 100 MW project under development by Engie.
Bifacial modules ridin’ down the highway
The Dutch government will deploy bifacial PV modules on noise barriers along the country’s main roads. A first, 400m solar array has been built along the A50 near Uden, in the Netherlands’ southern province of Noord-Brabant.
