solar energy

Researchers in China have analyzed how the marine environment influences the performance of PV modules deployed on ships, and have found that salt particles can be detrimental to their performance as these act as both heating agents and a factor reducing solar irradiance. The temporary cooling effect provided by seawater is not sufficient to offset the impacts of salt spray and ensure increased power yields.

Higher gas and electricity prices could open up new opportunities for short-term power purchase agreements in the Italian and European renewable energy markets, according to Stefano Cavriani, the founder and director of EGO Energy, an Italian company that specializes in PPA hedging. In a chat with pv magazine, he explained that electricity prices should not increase more, but they may stabilize at current levels, or slightly below the €100/MWh threshold.

India’s solar capacity growth up to 2030 also means the accumulation of a significant amount of PV module waste due to early failures or damage during transportation, installation, and operation. The waste generation could be 21 kilotons, assuming India’s cumulative installed PV capacity grows to 287.4 GW by 2030, from 40 GW in 2020. This doesn’t include end-of-life panel waste, as PV systems installed in the 2020-30 period are assumed to have at least 30 years of lifetime.

Coal India Ltd. is accepting proposals from parties willing to partner on its proposed 4 GW solar PV ingot-wafer-cell-module manufacturing facility. Applications will be accepted until Sept. 16.

Arctech Solar has announced it will provide trackers for a 2.1 GW project in Dubai and China’s largest state-owned grid operators and power utilities – State Grid of China and China Southern Grid – have established a clean power exchange.

Elsewhere, Uniper and the Port of Rotterdam have signed a deal to produce green hydrogen at the former’s site on the Maasvlakte extension of the port, and the Japanese government is helping Azerbaijan develop a green hydrogen and ammonia market.

GPH Ispat will build a solar plant on an artificial lake that is used to harvest rainwater, with panels to also be deployed on lakeside hills and the rooftops of the company’s main factory and offices.

Dutch startup Solarge has developed a 500 W panel that weighs 50% less than conventional glass-backsheet modules. The new product can be fixed to rooftops with roofing anchors, which eliminates the need for ballast, according to the manufacturer.

The result was confirmed by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE). The cell was fabricated through a low-temperature co-evaporation method for the growth of the light-absorbing CIGS semiconductor thin film.

Developed by Australian scientists, the demonstrated system is claimed to achieve a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 20% at a levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of $4.10/kg. The direct solar hydrogen generation technology is powered by a tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell with an unprecedented high open-circuit voltage of 1.271 V, and a power conversion efficiency of 24.3%.