Heat pumps bankable as incentive-free solutions in many applications
Two Italian experts on heat pumps and PV systems recently spoke to pv magazine about economies of scale, the European market, and the maturity of heating tech. The Eurac researchers said currently available heat pumps can run at -20 C and efficiently provide hot water up to 65 C.
NASA developing 10 kW movable PV array for moon mission
NASA plans to place a solar array on a tall mast to avoid lunar shading and capture uninterrupted light. It will hang a pair of PV cell blankets from a horizontal cross arm supported by the mast, anchored to a deployable tripod base.
Belgium’s Flanders region allocates 33 MW of PV in first renewables auction
The procurement exercise’s final prices for the PV source ranged from €0.0321 to €0.15 per kWh. The next auction will be held in September.
South Africa installed 1.3 GW of PV last year
Around 800 MW of last year’s new additions came from ground-mounted solar plants, and the remaining 500 MW from distributed generation.
REC unveils second generation of its N-Peak solar module
The manufacturer plans to start production of the performance-enhanced solar modules in August. The first customers should then receive the products in October.
Sunseap announces 2.2 GW floating PV project at Indonesian water reservoir
If built, the project would be the world’s largest floating PV power plant and would reach the same capacity as the largest ground-mounted facility currently in operation.
Vikram Solar opens 1.3 GW mono PERC module factory
Vikram Solar has reached an overall module production capacity of 2.5 GW with the opening of a 1.3 GW fab in Chennai, India. The new facility will produce mono PERC modules with peak outputs of up to 640 W.
Longi claims 25.19% efficiency for p-type TOPCon solar cell
Longi’s 25.19% efficiency rating for its new p-type TOPCon solar cells, confirmed by the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin, is reportedly a world record.
Solar 101: How to pay for your rooftop solar investment
The out-of-pocket cost for a solar power system can be pretty high. We take a look at bank loans, on-the-spot finance, third-party ownership, and the benefits of using cold, hard cash.
Storage, curtailment could support 130 GW of PV in Italy by 2060
A group of scientists argue that centrally managed, flexible PV fleets could be an optimal solution for Italy. And they claim that a mix of storage and curtailment could facilitate the deployment of 130 GW of PV by 2060 at a minimal cost.
