Only5mins! – Floating offshore PV in the Mediterranean
pv magazine speaks with Luciano Mule’Stagno, director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University of Malta, about the prospects of floating offshore PV in Malta and the Mediterranean. He says offshore PV could become competitive with ground-mounted solar in some land-constrained countries.
Emmvee to set up 1.5 GW solar cell factory with Fraunhofer ISE’s support
Emmvee says its new factory in India will produce PERC and TOPCon solar cells.
Vireo Ventures to invest €60 million in up to 30 startups
Felix Krause, co-founder the Vireo Ventures, tells pv magazine that the Berlin-based company plans to make pre-seed and seed-phase investments in startups that are developing innovations for the energy transition.
Toyota Tsusho buys 85% stake in SoftBank’s renewables unit
Toyota Tsusho has agreed to buy an 85% stake in Softbank’s renewable energy unit, SB Energy, which owns and operates 773 MW of renewable energy assets in Japan, including 667.1 MW of solar and 55.9 MW of wind capacity.
Online estimation tool for heat pump sizing
The Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP) has released a free, online estimation tool to aid Australian businesses in sizing heat pumps to replace gas boilers. The tool estimates the capex, opex, net savings, and payback time based on inputs about heating, cooling, location, and temperature requirements.
Drinkers encouraged to ‘give a XXXX’ as brewer goes solar
Iconic Australian beer brand XXXX will be brewed using 100% clean energy after parent company Lion signed an agreement to source renewable power from Lightsource bp’s 176 MW Woolooga solar farm.
Photovoltaic-thermoelectric tech with potential efficiency of 65%
Chinese scientists have simulated a new photovoltaic-thermoelectric technology, based on radiative cooling and III-V solar cells, to generate electricity at night.
Hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide solar cell for BIPV, VIPV, agrivoltaics
Scientists in Spain have developed a transparent solar cell with an average visible transmittance of up to 66%. The device could be used for ubiquitous device functionalization, including indoor PV and agrivoltaics.
Lithium iron phosphate battery for rooftop solar off-grid applications
Zola Electric’s new lithium iron phosphate battery system charges from solar and the grid and can power AC and DC appliances. It has a nominal voltage of 12.8 V and a nominal capacity of 50 Ah.
Only5mins! – Europe’s hottest heat pump markets
pv magazine speaks to Jan Rosenow, principal and director of European programs for the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), about Europe’s top heat pump markets. He says Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Germany and Finland posted the strongest growth in 2022.
