Sterling and Wilson wins $127.5 million order in Egypt
India’s Sterling and Wilson – which has a global solar engineering, procurement and construction portfolio of more than 10.6 GWp – says that its latest contract in Egypt is for one of the country’s largest PV projects.
Israel reveals bidders for 300 MW solar-plus-storage tender in Negev Desert
The Israeli authorities have selected 24 bidders for the tender’s final phase. Construction of the solar-plus-storage facility is planned for late 2021, and completion in 2023.
Spectral-splitting filters for more efficient photovoltaic-thermal panels
A British-Chinese research group has created a new framework to assess the performance and efficiency limits of photovoltaic-thermal solar panels. They say that the improvement of spectral-splitting (SS) filters in the devices will be the key to their future commercial success.
A 15.2%-efficient solar cell that you can fold in half
Scientists in South Korea developed a foldable thin-film device with some promising characteristics. Integrating a perovskite cell material and a carbon nanotube electrode, the group fabricated a device that achieved 15.2% efficiency and could withstand being folded more than 10,000 times at a bending radius of 0.5mm.
Kenyan utility seeks proposals for PV plant at water treatment site
The tender was launched by Nyahururu Water and Sanitation Company (Nyahuwasco), which operates in the Laikipia West sub-county of Laikipia County, in central Kenya.
Thailand’s first floating PV project goes online
The 2 MW plant is installed at the historic site of agro-food group SPM, in Thailand. With 2.8 GWh/year of low-carbon electricity, it will cover up to 20% of the site’s annual energy consumption.
Solliance, MiaSolé hit 26.5% efficiency on tandem CIGS/perovskite solar cell
MiaSolé and Solliance have achieved record performance by optimizing the bandgap and the efficiency of both the rigid semi-transparent perovskite top cell and the flexible CIGS bottom cell.
India joins race to develop high-efficiency solar cells
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is funding research to develop high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells, as well as perovskites.
Financial close for 400 MW solar park in Australia
Bank of China, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Westpac have provided debt financing to bring the first 400 MW stage of the New England Solar Farm to financial close.
Silver prices expected to rise by 11% this year
Silver demand for PV production worldwide is forecast to grow to 105 million ounces this year, as overall demand hits an eight-year high. Prices for the precious metal could reach a seven-year high of $30.00 per ounce this year but, according to the Silver Institute, this level is still far away from any critical threshold that would make silver supply for the solar industry problematic.
