Agrivoltaics for arboriculture
Swiss company Insolight inaugurated a 250 kW agrivoltaic installation on apple, pear, and apricot orchards in Conthey, producing 300 MWh per year for the grid, in collaboration with Agroscope, Romande Energie, and the canton of Valais.
One-year testing shows ground-mounted PV achieves ‘superior’ performance ratio in Sahara
A 12-month testing of a 1.1 MW pilot PV facility built in 2016 in Algeria’s desert has shown that tracking-equipped ground-mounted PV can reach high performance ratio values under Saharan conditions. The plant was built with a variety of PV module technologies.
Ireland allocates over 860 MW of solar in fifth renewables auction
Ireland’s fifth onshore renewable energy auction provisionally allocated 860 MW of solar with the final average price for PV coming in at €0.10063/kWh. ($0.12/kWh).
Enhancing dual-axis solar tracker performance with new optimization techniques
Researchers in India have developed two solar tracker optimization techniques can purportedly increase power generation by up to 54.36% when combined. One uses a light sensor and the other relies on data from GPS and a real-time clock.
China building 1.8 GW offshore PV project in Bohai Sea
A state-led 1.8 GW offshore PV plan in Changli, China’s Hebei province, is set to become a model for large-scale marine solar development, with completion targeted by mid-2026.
French solar developer Everwatt goes bankrupt
EverWatt, a French solar developer, entered receivership this summer after investors withdrew support, leading to layoffs and the sale of its assets while the company seeks buyers for regional solar projects.
China completes 1 GW solar-wind-storage complex in Qinghai desert
Chinese conglomerate CRRC has commissioned a 1 GW hybrid project in Qinghai, combining 700 MW of solar, 300 MW of wind, and 100 MW/400 MWh of storage with Trinasolar’s Vertex tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules.
Floating PV system with ring-like floater geometry
Scientists in China have investigated the hydrodynamic performance of a novel modular floating photovoltaic system. They did so using a novel hybrid approach, which integrates viscous-flow effects from computational fluid dynamics into a potential-flow solver. They analyzed the new system with varying numbers of panels, either in a single chain or a parallel configuration.
Saudi Arabia launches 3.1 GW solar tender
Saudi Power Procurement Co. (SPPC) has announced a request for qualification (RFQ) for 3.1 GW of solar capacity across four projects in the seventh round of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy tender program.
California now hosting canal top solar-plus-storage plant
California has completed the 1.6 MW Nexus canal-top solar pilot, adding a 75 kW iron-flow battery system as part of a $20 million state-funded project to test water and energy benefits.
