Reshoring of US solar manufacturing
The Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) latest white paper on solar and storage manufacturing includes an interactive map. It shows that momentum has started to build for a transformational expansion of domestic solar and storage manufacturing.
Huasun begins mass production of 25% efficiency bifacial heterojunction solar cells
Huasun has switched on the manufacturing lines for its new heterojunction module factory in China’s Anhui province.
Mitsubishi unveils propane heat pump for residential applications
Mitsubishi Electric has developed an air-source heat pump that uses propane (R290) as the refrigerant. It can produce between 5 kW and 8.5 kW of heat and domestic hot water to a temperature of up to 75 C.
Belinus unveils shingle solar panels with 20.1% efficiency
Belgium-based Belinus says its new PV modules feature a nominal power rating of 420 W and a power conversion efficiency of 20.1%. It says plans are also in place to build a 500 MW solar panel factory at an unspecified Belgian site.
Zendure introduces residential batteries for balcony solar modules
Zendure’s SolarFlow batteries have capacities of 960 Wh and can be stacked up to 3,849 Wh. The US manufacturer wants to begin selling the plug-and-play systems in April.
UK cathedral to install solar, storage system
York Minster, one of the largest cathedrals in Northern Europe, has secured approval to install 199 solar modules on its rooftop. The system will generate at least 75,000 kWh per year and will be paired with batteries.
Solar mounting structure made of recycled wind turbine blades
Spain’s Acciona Energia is using fiberglass from the blades of used wind turbines to make the torsion beams of solar trackers. It is using the tech as part of a pilot project in Badajoz, Spain.
CEA-INES, Enel achieve 26.5% efficiency for tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell
CEA-INES researchers and Enel have developed a new solar cell with an active area of 9 cm² and an open-circuit voltage above 1,880 mV. Their results improve on the 25.8% efficiency they achieved for the same kind of cell in December 2022.
India’s SECI tenders 100 MW floating solar plant
Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) has started accepting global bids to build a 100 MW (AC) floating solar project in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Bidding closes on May 2.
ACEN moves forward with 720 MW Australian solar farm
The largest solar project in the Australian state of New South Wales has officially opened, with ACEN Australia confirming that the first 400 MW stage of its planned 720 MW New England Solar Farm is now progressing through the commissioning process.
