New research suggests renewables may not necessarily foster democracy, peace
Researchers in Germany have found that there is “no evidence” to support the notion that renewable energy generation fosters peace through prosperity. The trio of academics came to this conclusion after empirically testing the assumption that distributed renewable energies may reduce international conflicts and promote democratic values.
Mozambique switches on 19 MW/7 MWh solar-plus-storage plant
Globeleq says that commercial operations have started for what is said to be Mozambique’s first combined utility-scale solar and energy storage plant, in the district of Cuamba.
US, China dominate solar investment
China and the United States consistently attract the most annual solar investments. Together, they have received about 50% of all solar investments since 2015, according to a new report by the International Solar Alliance.
PV equipment sales are up with high share of exports, says VDMA
German engineering association the VDMA reports strong PV equipment exports in the second quarter, representing 92.5% of sales. Overall, PV equipment sales were up by 50% compared to the first quarter of the year and up slightly compared to the same period last year, but incoming orders for PV equipment were down by 14%.
Novel tool for PV system sizing allows users to assess tradeoffs between reliability and costs
Developed by scientists in Egypt, trhe Green Energy Solutions software allows users to assess the tradeoffs between the PV system reliability and its costs. Compared to PVsyst, it has an error margin of up to 9%.
New US solar manufacturers likely to choose TOPCon
At the recent pv magazine RoundtablesUS 2023 event, four experts weighed in on PV module choices now and into the future, with TOPCon in the spotlight, but perovskite and tandem HJT on the not-too-distant horizon.
Drone imaging tech enhances solar performance
Drone-mounted imaging of solar farm performance at the rate of one panel per second reduces the cost of current ground-based sampling methods by up to 20 times. A new strategic Australia-Singapore partnership is helping to ensure the output of PV assets is always at peak.
First Solar delivers on earnings, margins, falls short on revenue
US-based thin-film PV manufacturer First Solar says it has raised its expectations for 2023 as its order backlog continues to grow.
Portugal powered solely by renewables last weekend
Portugal generated 172.5 GWh of renewable electricity between Friday and Saturday. Its output included 97.6 GWh of wind, 68.3 GWh of hydro, and 6.6 GWh of PV. It exported surplus power to Spain, while consuming 131.1 GWh.
French firms deploy 10 wind-PV generators on commercial rooftop
Segula Technologies and Wind my Roof recently installed 10 hybrid wind-solar generators on the rooftop of a commercial building. Each system features a 1,500 W wind turbine and two 800 W solar modules. A smart storage system will support a microgrid in the building.
