Germany has 270,000 residential batteries linked to PV
Around 88,000 energy storage systems linked to rooftop PV were installed last year in the country, which supports residential batteries through a dedicated scheme.
India added 1.4 GW of PV in October-December period
India’s new solar capacity additions in the third quarter of the country’s 2020-21 fiscal year were well above the 928 MW installed in the preceding July-September quarter.
PV can cover almost half of typical office buildings’ electricity demand
Scientists in Germany have estimated that roof and facade PV systems can cover almost 40% of the total requirements of a standard office building, assuming that no battery storage is installed.
Dualsun unveils 375 W photovoltaic-thermal panel with shingle tech
The panel features an efficiency of 20% and a thermal power of 600 W-thermal per square meter.
Viridian Solar unveils roof-integrated solar panels with power of 335/340 W
The new devices feature efficiencies ranging from 20.7-21%. The panels are said to be compatible with a wide range of slates and tiles, include special fixings for different batten thicknesses, and achieve the highest fire rating and wind resistance without modifications to the roof.
Silfab Solar launches 21.4%-efficient back contact residential panel
The new interdigitated back-contact module comes with power outputs ranging from 370 to 380 W and is the most powerful panel produced by the company to date.
Belgium’s Flanders region unveils compensation scheme for PV systems affected by smart meter disruption
The draft regulation has now been sent to the country’s Council of State for review. If approved, the new rules will grant prosumers the right to ask to postpone the installation of a smart meter until 2025. Furthermore, the Flemish government said it will also compensate PV system owners with a sum that should ensure a reasonable investment return of 5%.
Austria allocates 332 MW of PV under 2020 rebate scheme
The Austrian government had devoted €50 million to the scheme for last year. These funds will enable the deployment of 15,957 PV systems.
Spectral-splitting filters for more efficient photovoltaic-thermal panels
A British-Chinese research group has created a new framework to assess the performance and efficiency limits of photovoltaic-thermal solar panels. They say that the improvement of spectral-splitting (SS) filters in the devices will be the key to their future commercial success.
India joins race to develop high-efficiency solar cells
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is funding research to develop high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells, as well as perovskites.
