India installed 6.8 GW of solar in H1
India deployed 6.8 GW of solar in the first half of 2023. The rooftop solar segment had 2,294 MW of capacity additions, which is higher than the total rooftop PV installations recorded in 2022.
SDN unveils 600 W solar modules for floating PV
South Korea’s SDN has developed new bifacial solar modules based on M10 wafers. The new products feature a power conversion efficiency of 21.46% and, according to the manufacturer, are the world’s most efficient floating PV panels.
Australian manufacturer unveils 5.12 kWh battery for residential applications
Vaulta, an Australian battery tech company, has developed its first dedicated residential battery. The small-scale energy storage system can purportedly operate for 4,000 cycles, with an 80% depth of discharge.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Three Gorges buys 2.2 GW of PV panels for $0.18-019/W
China Three Gorges Group has announced its latest PV module procurement results, while GCL-Si has revealed plans to raise CNY 5.8 billion ($812.9 million) via a private placement to finance its expansion.
Offshore floating PV demonstrator to go online on Belgium’s North Sea coast
The SeaVolt consortium says it will launch an offshore floating PV demonstrator off the Belgian port of Ostend. The main companies – Tractebel, DEME, Equans and Jan De Nul – say the anchored floating array will collect data for at least a year to scale up the tech.
UK’s cumulative installed PV capacity hits 15.13 GW
The United Kingdom’s cumulative installed solar capacity reached 15.13 GW by the end of May, with 480 MW added between January and May 2023.
Kaneka, Itochu switch on solar microgrid at industrial park in Japan
Kaneka and Itochu have switched on a solar microgrid in Japan. It is powered exclusively by 2.2 MW of PV and 6 MWh of storage capacity. It will sell power to the eight companies operating at the site via a power purchase agreement.
Belgian startup offers custom CIGS solar foils
Enfoil is developing a CIGS thin film custom manufacturing business, targeting building-integrated PV applications, such as powering sensors or track & trace sub-systems in trucks. The company is a spinoff of Hasselt University and imec, the Belgian research institute.
French developer deploys removable ground-mounted solar plant
CVE, a French developer, has deployed a solar plant based on PV modules ballasted on the ground. The installation will cover nearly 10% of the overall consumption of an industrial site in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, France.
Heat wave triggers demand in Spain and Italy, raises prices in European markets
The high temperatures registered in the third week of July caused demand record peaks in Spain and Italy on July 19 and demand increases in other markets. In France, the weekly photovoltaic energy production was the highest in history, but in most markets, solar and wind energy production fell. All these factors, together with the increase in CO2 prices, favored electricity markets prices to be above those of the previous week in most markets.
