PV

A research paper from scientists at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory outlines a new approach to the production of gallium arsenide based cells. The approach, termed ‘germanium on nothing’, could enable the cost effective, high volume production of PV cells based on III-V materials such as gallium arsenide.

To be commissioned in 2022, the giant solar plant will be built on a 1,300-hectare surface in the municipal areas of Torrecillas de la Tiesa and Aldeacentenera, near Caceres, in the Spanish southern region of Extremadura.

The buyer has not disclosed how much it invested in the subsidiary of German EPC contractor Juwi, which is building four PV power plants with 250 MW of total generation capacity under the nation’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Program.

In a conversation with pv magazine, REC vice-president for sales in the EMEA region Ivano Zanni describes the new strategy of the Norwegian manufacturer following the launch of its high-efficiency, half-cut mono n-type heterojunction module. REC expects annual production capacity for the panels at its factory in Singapore to increase to 600 MW by the end of next year, and that the company’s total capacity will reach 2 GW.

With a capacity of 2,2 MW, the rooftop array is at the industrial plant of Belgian company Ontex, which will buy almost all the electricity generated from project developer Menapy under a 15-year power supply deal.

The modules will be used by U.K. developer Solarcentury for its Cabrera and Talayuela Solar projects in southern Spain.

The former director of Fraunhofer ISE will be officially elected at a general assembly planned for September. The ESCM wants a strong Europe to be part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and also pay attention to sustainability.

The latest government figures show utility scale solar had near-zero growth in 12 months. Although excluded from the Contracts for Difference procurement regime, large scale projects may experience a resurgence thanks to unsubsidized schemes linked to bilateral power supply deals, with the Solar Trade Association predicting 400 MW of such projects may be finalized this year.

The new net metering tariff will be equal to market prices and will go into force as soon as the Albanian government approves it. According to a local interest group led by Albanian company EuroElektra, that could happen within the next two weeks. Overall, the scheme could facilitate the installation of around 200 MW of solar power.

The Portuguese government plans to allocate over 2 GW of PV capacity through two procurement exercises to be held in June and January. Among the potential bidders — who Portugal’s state secretary for energy, João Galamba, expects to meet soon — there is a range of different Portuguese and foreign players of varying sizes.