Perovskite solar cell built on steel substrate achieves record efficiency of 17.1%
Scientists in Australia claim to have achieved the highest efficiency ever reported to date for a perovskite solar cell built on a steel substrate. They utilized an indium tin oxide (ITO) interlayer between the steel substrate and the cell in order to avoid iron diffusion from the substrate into the PV device.
The economics of storing renewables with Carnot batteries
A group of researchers in Denmark has investigated how Carnot batteries may be used to store renewable energy in their home country and have found that these devices may provide a significant contribution only under a certain cost threshold.
Solar module prices continue to fall
Although raw material costs in China are slowly stabilizing again, PV module prices continue to decline, as inventory levels remain very high.
Aims Power introduces hybrid inverter for solar-battery systems
Aims Power has developed a hybrid inverter for solar-battery systems, with power outputs of 4.6 kW and 9.6 kW and solar input capacities of 6.9 kW and 15 kW.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Astronergy plans 2 GW offshore solar project
Astronergy says it plans to build one of the world’s largest announced offshore PV projects, while Longi says it is expanding its cell capacity in Leshan, Sichuan province.
Liberia plans 15 MW/10 MWh solar-plus-storage project
Liberia Electricity Corp. (LEC) is seeking consultants to develop a 15 MW/10 MWh solar-plus-storage installation at Roberts International Airport near Monrovia, Liberia’s capital city.
Saudi researchers apply distributionally robust optimization to wind, solar project siting
Saudi scientists created a new deep learning technique based on distributionally robust optimization (DRO) to identify the most suitable locations for utility scale wind and solar power projects. They applied the model to Saudi Arabia and found it provides ‘more realistic’ results than deterministic or robust models.
Germany allocates 1.67 GW in large-scale solar tender
Germany’s latest auction for utility-scale solar concluded with prices ranging from €0.0539 ($0.0588)/kWh to €0.0665/kWh. The procurement exercise was significantly oversubscribed.
Bosch sells new propane heat pumps with PV packages
Bosch is currently selling the new heat pumps in the DACH markets and is planning to expand sales in other European markets in September. The new products use propane as the refrigerant and integrated sound diffusers. The manufacturer is also offering a power meter/sensor enabling the heat pumps to work with any existing PV system and battery storage solution at home.
On-grid, off-grid: the double-sided solar solution for Mozambique
In a new monthly column for pv magazine, SolarPower Europe describes how Mozambique may take full advantage of its huge solar potential by implementing its recently launched Renewable Energy Auctions Programme for large-scale projects, while also pushing for more off-grid renewables in remote areas.
