Ballasted racking from PowerField Energy scales up to utility-scale installation
PowerRack is PowerField’s portable, ballasted racking system that is used in residential, commercial, industrial, and now utility-scale solar.
Intersolar 2023: ‘Europe needs China to rebuild its solar industry’
Alessandro Barin, CEO of FuturaSun, spoke with pv magazine at the recent Intersolar 2023 trade show about the PV module manufacturer’s plans to expand in China and its home market of Italy. He said European and Chinese manufacturers take different approaches to new factories, but the two sides will need to come together to build a sustainable global supply chain.
Agrivoltaics for hop growth in Germany
Germany’s Agri Energia has switched on a pilot agrivoltaic facility near Munich to protect hop plants from sunlight and hail, while also reducing evaporation. It is installed on steel masts that serve as support for the hop plants.
Huadian Energy completes 1 GW solar farm on salt fields in China
Huadian Energy’s new 1 GW solar plant in Tianjin, northeastern China, supports water-surface halogen production and underwater aquaculture.
SEG Solar releases all-black 440 W TOPCon solar modules with 22.35% efficiency
California-based SEG Solar says its new panels have a temperature coefficient of -0.30% per degree Celsius. They come with a 30-year power output guarantee for 87.4% of the initial yield.
Strategies to convert PV into a dispatchable source using minimum storage
Scientists in Australia have provided a comprehensive review of all strategies and technologies that can be used to increase the dispatchability of solar power with reduced use of storage. They focused their efforts, in particular, on forecasting and controlling PV power.
Australian grid operator tests 17 standalone systems with PV, batteries
AusNet Services’ independent subsidiary, Mondo Power, has commissioned 17 standalone power systems featuring PV and battery energy storage, as part of its inaugural trial of the offgrid technology.
CSEM, EPFL reveal technical details of 31.25%-efficient tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell
A year after achieving what at the time was a world record efficiency for a tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell, scientists from EPFL and CSEM published a paper showing the technical features of the device and how that result was made possible. The key was regulating the perovskite crystallization process using an additive in the processing sequence.
Retail data-sharing offers consumption monitoring without meters
Solar Analytics, an Australian solar energy analytics company, is now offering a new service that allows solar owners to retrieve consumption data directly from retail meters, eliminating the need for additional consumption metering.
Solar-powered tool shed store electric lawn equipment
SunVilla says its new Smart Yard power station is a 6.4 kWh semi-solid state battery system with 3.8 kW of battery output. It features 100 W to 200 W solar modules mounted on a tool shed to charge electric systems and provide storage for lawn equipment.
