Solar panels with discarded ‘black gold’ from wafer production
A European consortium is trying to reuse discarded silicon powder from ingot and wafer manufacturing in several industrial applications, including PV production. The group is now identifying ways to decontaminate such materials.
Italy hits 959 MW/1,826 MWh of distributed storage capacity
Italy added 303 MW/632 MWh of distributed energy storage capacity in the first nine months of 2022. The segment continues to grow in the country, led by the regions of Lombardy and Veneto.
Bslbatt unveils 90-mm-thick battery for residential solar
China’s Bslbatt said its new product has a storage capacity of 5 kWh and a nominal voltage of 51.2 V. It measures 670 mm x 540 mm x 88 mm and is 90 mm thick.
Rooftop system with PV panels, mini wind turbines in the Netherlands
Ibis Power has developed a rooftop system that combines solar with wind turbines designed for medium-sized structures and high-rise buildings. It claims its PowerNEST system can produce six to 10 times more energy than standalone rooftop solar. The company has already installed five projects in the Netherlands.
China’s PV capacity hits 364.4 GW
IEA-PVPS says that China added around 58 GW of new PV capacity in the first 10 months of the year, bringing cumulative installations to 364.44 GW. It says up to 100 GW of new capacity could be deployed by the end of this year.
Colbun switches on battery-linked 230 MW solar plant in Chile
Colbun has completed the Diego de Almagro Sur solar plant in Chile’s Atacama region. It is connected to 8 MW/32 MWh of battery storage.
Mitsubishi unveils air source heat pump
Mitsubishi has released a cascaded air source heat pump that can produce between 7.8 kW and 640 kW of heat. It is reportedly able to generate hot water at a temperature of up to 70 C without boost heaters.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: TCL Zhonghuan cuts wafer prices by more than 4%
TCL Zhonghuan has announced wafer price cuts, Shenzhen Energy unveiled a plan to build a 2 GW solar-storage project, and the Chinese authorities have announced measures to expedite grid connections for new solar and wind plants.
Netherlands changes grid code to reduce congestion, host more renewables
New rules in the Netherlands will allow new entities known as “congestion service providers” as intermediaries between grid operators and power plant operators, in order to make optimal use of the network.
Kaco unveils string inverters for rooftop solar arrays
Kaco has launched a new line of blueplanet NX3 three-phase string inverters for applications ranging from small residential rooftop arrays to projects on commercial buildings. They have outputs between 3 kW and 33 kW, a maximum efficiency of 98.0%, and a maximum European efficiency of 97.6%.
