PV plant

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that emergence of a weak La Niña in the tropical Pacific is expected to reinforce sunny conditions over the southern parts of the continent, including Chile, Argentina, and southern Brazil.

The BAJ Solar IPP projects is planned to have a capacity of 100 MW and to be located near Bilaj Al Jazayer, on the Southwest coast of Bahrain.

Inverters must withstand the high levels of heat generated when operating, otherwise system performance and reliability could be at risk. Cody Schoener of Dow Performance Silicones argues using silicone-based materials for inverters can improve thermal management and fire protection, while offering thermal stability, environmental resistance, electrical isolation and support for operational efficiency.

Canadian researchers investigated how the transparency of cadmium telluride and crystalline silicon solar panels affects lettuce growth in agrivoltaic systems. They found that 69%–transparent silicon panels increased lettuce yield by 3.6%, whereas cadmium telluride panels led to a reduction in yield.

France’s proposed 2026 budget would double the flat-rate grid tax for solar plants over 100 kW commissioned before 2021, drawing backlash from investors and PV industry groups.

Scientists in the United Kingdom have developed a new web-inspired concept for floating PV farms, modeled after spider webs. The system is said to be particularly suitable for spiral and radial configurations, as well as for deployment between offshore wind farms.

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) says PV systems within 2 km of Germany’s railway substations could generate more than four times the network’s annual power demand.

Growing price volatility and the rise of negative pricing across power markets are pushing lenders and developers to rethink risk and revenue structures, focusing on asset flexibility and sustainable business models for storage, including co-location.

Sinn Power has deployed a 1.8 MW vertical solar array on a quarry lake in the Bavarian municipality of Gilching. The company highlights the ecological benefits of the vertical system configuration and, perhaps surprisingly, its high resistance to storms.

Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have published a review that looks at polycarbonate sheets as an alternative to solar cover glass. Their findings indicate that this new materials have a combination of low weight, mechanical strength, optical transparency, and thermal resistance that is worthy of further investigation.