SunPower accesses $1bn in residential solar and storage loan capital from credit union
The cash injection from Tech CU will fund the installation of ‘tens of thousands’ of the Californian manufacturer’s solar panels on residential rooftops over four years, according to the company.
A new technique for cooling solar panels
Scientists in Egypt have investigated the effectiveness of using water and a mixture of aluminum oxide and calcium chloride hexahydrate to cool PV modules. Optimal performance was observed with a solution of 75% water, according to the research findings.
A disinfectant system powered by solar
French PV company Solea has developed a system which can produce 8-16 liters of solar-powered disinfectant solution per day.
A flexible perovskite solar cell with 11.8% efficiency
U.S. researchers have created an inorganic mixed halide perovskite solar cell which they claim shows no thermal degradation even at 200 degrees Celsius for three days. The device can be used in tandem junction cells and is designed for use in real-life environments with high solar irradiation.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Financials, a new GW-scale factory, and big hydrogen
Longi and Sungrow both announced solid financial results last week. Module maker China Solar delayed the resumption of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, and polysilicon producer GCL-Poly unveiled plans to raise up to US$16.8 million by issuing shares. Coal miner Baofeng Energy, meanwhile, announced the construction of what it claims will be the world’s largest PV-powered hydrogen plant, and Seraphim and Lu’An Solar revealed that they will open a 5 GW PV panel factory in China’s Jiangsu province.
Mexican government halts grid connection of new solar and wind projects
The move has been brought in by the National Energy Control Center which claims it is necessary to safeguard energy security during the Covid-19 public health crisis. Critics say the authorities are using the pandemic as an excuse to extend a pattern of action against the renewables industry.
Storing solar and wind energy with compressed air
Researchers have studied the potential of using compressed air to store renewable energy in offshore saline aquifers. The technology could hold 77-96 TWh for up to two months in British waters, although the costs have proven hard to pin down.
US utility issues tender for 1 GW of renewables
Virginia-based utility Dominion plans to procure 16 GW of solar, 2.7 GW of storage and 5.1 GW of offshore wind in the next 15 years. Kicking off these new plans comes a request for proposals of 1 GW of solar or wind and 250 MW of energy storage.
US fossil fuel developer goes solar with 350 MW project
The economics of a solar project in Texas are so compelling coal and gas developer J-Power wants a piece of the action.
Meyer Burger mulls gigawatt-scale German solar fab
Chief executive Gunter Erfurt told a German radio station a solar factory in North Rhine-Westphalia could supply high-efficiency panels for a 10 GW floating solar project on the vast Hambach open-cast coal mine.
