Netherlands sets €13bn budget for 2022 SDE+ program, green hydrogen included for first time
Starting from this year, the scheme will also be open to green hydrogen facilities that are directly linked to wind or solar parks, and industrial electrification projects based on hybrid glass furnaces.
Around 40% of Brazil’s wind, PV capacity is under private PPAs
According to a study by CELA Clean Energy Latin America, there are currently approximately 10.7 GW of solar photovoltaic and wind projects under bilateral PPAs in the Latin American country.
Snow, ice-repellent coating for solar panels
Researchers in Sweden are currently testing three kinds of coatings — hydrophobic, superhydrophobic and slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces. The goal of the new technology is to halve ice adhesion compared to standard modular glass and ensure 96% light transmittance.
Italian research agency ENEA launches call for innovative agrivoltaics
The agrivoltaic facility may have a capacity of 1 to 3 MW and will have to be designed to comply with landscape requirements and the agricultural practices of NeoruraleHub, which applies a blue economy model to agriculture.
Fortum wins 200MW solar project in India
Fortum has secured a deal to build a solar project under a 25-year power purchase agreement with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam, at a fixed tariff of INR 2.29 ($0.030)/kWh.
Goldman Sachs activates 390MW of PV, 561MWh of storage in California
The Slate solar and storage project began development in 2015 and is now one of the largest facilities of its kind in California.
World’s largest solar tree record smashed
With a PV panel surface area of 309.83 sq.m, the solar tree is officially certified by Guinness World Records (GWR) as the largest solar tree in the world.
Newer, larger PV plants perform better, while older plants pick up steam with repowering
An American government lab sees utility-scale solar fleets degrading faster than projected at 1.2% per year, while newer and larger plants are degrading at just 0.7% per year. Older plants appear to be getting repowered in year seven, resulting in lasting performance increases.
India installed 1.2GW of unsubsidized solar in 2021
India surpassed 5GW of cumulative, “open-access” solar capacity in December.
Temperature-dependent model to calculate solar LCOE
Developed by researchers in Saudi Arabia, the novel approach considers both the temperature-dependent power yield and the solar module time to failure (TTF), among other factors. According to its creators, the model can be applied to all kinds of module and cell technologies.
