PV modules

Fiat Chrysler has begun construction of a vehicle-to-grid pilot at its Mirafiori manufacturing facility in Turin. The project, which also includes 5 MW of PV, will eventually become a virtual power plant.

The Scottish water provider is seeking proposals for the development and construction of several solar plants ranging in size from 50 kW to 50 MW. The installations can be a combination of ground-mounted PV systems and rooftop arrays.

Researchers from the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore have concluded that utility-scale PV projects relying on bifacial panels and single-axis trackers deliver the lowest levelized cost of energy in most of the world. They found that the combination of bifacial products with dual-axis trackers is still too expensive, despite the higher yield. The second-lowest LCOE is offered by monofacial single-axis tracker plants.

Researchers in Iran have applied the Stackelberg leadership model to determine whether the creation of a closed-loop solar module supply chain – including panel refurbishing – is feasible. According to their findings, a similar supply chain may only be set up with public subsidies, which would ensure that costs for R&D, module production, and recycling are distributed between the government and all the chain’s players.

A Silver Institute study says demand for the precious metal for solar manufacturing accounted for 11% of global consumption last year but reduced solar generation capacity up to 2023 will eat into that figure and ‘thrifting’ technological advances will kick in after that point.

Researchers in the U.S. have demonstrated, using simulations, PV system generation can range from 18-60% of clear-sky potential during hurricanes – provided the arrays do not suffer damage. According to them, solar installations could continue to provide back-up power when grids are down during hurricanes, especially if coupled with energy storage.

Researchers in Japan have modified the tin(IV) oxide layer of a perovskite device with a fullerene-derivative-based self-assembled monolayer to produce a cell they claim offers stability and a reduction in the hysteresis effect which makes predicting power output so tricky.

Winners of the island state’s largest ever renewable energy procurement include AES, Hanwha, Engie, EDF, Longroad.

The companies aim to jointly develop higher quality and more competitive cells and modules that will in turn ensure the viability of PV power plants.

Solar plants are now expected to last 32.5 years and cost $17 per kW/year to operate, as shown by a Berkeley Lab survey of industry participants.