PV

As the anticipation builds ahead of the big kick-off on Thursday, June 14, pv magazine, with the help of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has been crunching the figures to see if there is any correlation between PV performance and World Cup success – and the results might surprise you.

Thanks in no small part to modules stockpiled before the Section 201 tariffs hit, both the utility-scale and “non-residential” market segments grew year-over-year in Q1. And while the duties are expected to play a greater role in 2019, there are other factors supporting ongoing market growth.

A new study from University of California, Riverside, uses electric dipoles to accelerate electron in one direction, whilst completely stopping it in the other. The discovery, according to researchers, could lead to improvements in solar cell and other energy conversion technologies.

With her first official announcement, Spain’s incoming Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera has made it clear that the previous government’s reviled tax on distributed generation array, the so-called ‘sun tax’ will be eliminated. At the same time, she has confirmed her support for more ambitious EU renewable energy targets.

The utility’s renewable energy unit PGE EO has announced the construction of a PV laboratory and a solar module field test in Siedlce. The move is part of its plan to invest in solar parks up to 1 MW under Poland’s auction mechanism.

The plant is the second-largest planned in the Western Hemisphere, and will triple the thin film module maker’s manufacturing capacity in the United States.

A team of scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has proposed a gold-based halide perovskite as a material for high efficiency solar cells, which it says could be both more stable and more environmentally friendly to produce than many existing perovskites which scientists are investigating to boost solar efficiency.

According to the EU Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action, Arias Cañete, negotiations among all EU members on final target are still ongoing, and face several issues.

Arizona’s largest power user has approved a 20-year power contract with a 30 MW solar project at 2.49¢/kWh, the lowest price for a public solar power contract to date. The deal also involves shutting down a coal plant.

Pioneering UNSW solar researcher Martin Green has received wide recognition for his achievement as being selected as one of the winners of 2018 Global Energy Prize. The prize has brought with it $820,000 towards Green’s research and teaching, and a congratulatory call from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.