Determining solar cells’ optical properties with conventional flatbed office scanners
Australian researchers have sought to measure solar cells’ optical properties via low cost office scanners and found they may offer results that are comparable to those of tools used in the PV industry.
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%.
Alfanar to build 110 MW of solar for desalination plant in Saudi Arabia
Alfanar has revealed plans to set up a solar project including ground-mounted and floating PV to provide power to the Al Jubail 2 water desalination plant on the east coast of Saudi Arabia. It will require an investment of SAR 1.2 billion ($319 million).
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.
Turkey provides $410 million for 2 GW solar module factory
Smart Solar Technology has secured Turkish government support to build a vertically integrated solar module factory in Izmir, Turkey.
Poland to allocate 9 GW of solar in 2022-27 auctions
The Polish government plans to allocate around 13 GW of new renewables capacity under a six-year scheme. It said 4.5 GW of solar will be assigned to projects above 1 MW in size, while another 4.5 GW of capacity will be assigned to smaller installations.
