US added 3.6 GW of solar in Q1
Utility-scale solar strength will cover for residential and rooftop PV weakness in 2020, according to SEIA and WoodMac.
New metallization paste range from Heraeus
The SOL 7 series comprises five products for Perc, Topcon and heterojunction devices.
Another floating solar park goes online in the Netherlands
Dutch water supplier Evides Waterbedrijf has commissioned a 1.6 MW floating PV plant at one of its facilities near Rotterdam. It is now considering the construction of more floating solar plants on three other reservoirs, including a 350-hectare water surface.
Implementing standards in floating PV
Norwegian consultancy DNV GL has gathered together big energy players, floating PV specialists and project developers into a consortium that will aim to define recommended practices for the floating solar business. Among the 14 participants are some big players in the field including EDP, EDF and Equinor, as well as French floating technology provider Ciel & Terre.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: a 15 GW factory, new standards and solar glass output
Risen Solar has unveiled plans for a 15 GW cell and module fab in Yiwu City, Zhejiang province and China South Glass is fundraising for a PV glass factory in Anhui province. Such growth, however, may be slowed by the introduction of new standards by the government.
Cooling PV modules with passive technique based on finned heat sink
A Pakistani research team has assessed the performance of a passive heat sink cooling technique in two different configurations: one using rectangular fins and one based on circular fins. The rectangular configuration was the best in terms of heat rejection. Modules mounted with this solution had a 6 C lower temperature than modules without cooling systems.
France assigns 152 MW in commercial and industrial PV tender
The final average price for power generated by solar systems with capacities ranging from 100 kW to 500 kW came in at €96.49/MWh. The price for installations ranging in size from 500 kW to 8 MW was €86.17/MWh.
Lithium battery for low- and high-voltage storage
Dubai-based Weco has unveiled a new lithium battery solution that can operate in parallel as a low-voltage storage system or in series as a high-voltage battery with no hardware changes. The batteries can be mounted on walls or set up in a stack configuration.
First Solar backs carbon pricing for wholesale electricity
First Solar has backed carbon pricing in comments submitted to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The company also co-founded a global policy institute to support carbon pricing as a “cost-effective, equitable and politically viable climate solution.”
Valmont becomes largest shareholder of Brazilian PV company Solbras
The parent of Italian tracker business Convert has entered the Brazilian solar market with plans for agri-business products and other systems.
