photovoltaics

Dutch company Triple Solar has launched a photovoltaic thermal solar panel for residential buildings which can be connected to a brine or water heat pump. The manufacturer says the heating system based on the panel is an ideal alternative to less efficient air and water heat pumps and more expensive geothermal systems. The grid-connected PV system can export excess power under net metering programs.

The government wants to see off a potential slump in the PV market as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The increase means CHF376 million worth of rebates will be available for solar systems.

U.S. scientists have demonstrated a perovskite-silicon tandem cell they claim has low reflectance losses and strong potential for commercial production. The tandem architecture involves a manufacturing process featuring the solution-based blading of perovskites onto textured silicon wafers.

Negative energy prices for more than six hours mean the Dutch government will pay no renewables incentives under its SDE+ program for March 29. The plunging electricity price was caused by slumping demand for energy as restrictions were put in place to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working on the creation of a Rs 10,000 crore (US$1.3 billion) alternative investment fund to provide payments to PV developers.

A 120 MW solar plant located in a fishery near Cixi, in the Chinese province of Zhejiang, was recently completed. The plant, which has secured a tariff of RMB0.95 ($0.12)/kWh, is the second phase of a 320 MW project owned by Chinese developer Hangzhou Fengling.

Portuguese energy group EDP has secured a long-term power purchase agreement for its 200 MW Los Cuervos solar plant in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes. Local offtaker Ammper has agreed to buy the electricity.

Taiwanese manufacturer Heliartec Solutions is offering BIPV panels for building facades that can be designed to mimic different kinds of textures in conventional building materials. The panels can also work as colored laminated safety glass and replace traditional cladding in the ventilated facades of buildings. They vary in length from 60 cm to 240 cm, with widths ranging from 30 cm to 120 cm. Depending on their size, the panels can offer power outputs of 90 W to 150 W per square meter.  

A U.S. research group is now developing new inverters to protect solar installations from cyberattacks. The researchers also aim to create new cybersecurity standards. Professor Alan Mantooth, the group’s research coordinator, said that inverters can be shut down if they are hacked, or contribute to grid instability and result in the overcharging of batteries, while potentially creating problems that we still don’t know how to address.

According to a recent survey by EuPD Research, political conditions are to blame for the expected slowdown, rather than the coronavirus pandemic. The potential failure to remove the 52 GW cap for solar incentives is expected to have a much stronger impact on potential investors.