Solar Power

A Swiss-Canadian consortium is developing a novel process to produce green hydrogen. Furthermore, Italy’s Snam is cooperating with IRENA and a French consortium wants to deploy high-end hydrogen storage systems for the railway sector.

Wind power specialist Mingyang Smart Energy has revealed plans to build a 5 GW heterojunction module factory in China’s Jiangsu province, while TBEA has said it intends to raise its majority stake in Xinte Energy from 62% to 67%.

Scientists in Thailand have built a hybrid system based on a 3 kW fuel cell and a 50 kWh lead-acid battery that is intended for storing solar power. They also sought to identify the best DC coupling voltage between the two devices in order to optimize their combined performance.

Closed-loop pumped-hydro storage offers more chances to minimize environmental effects on water sources and overcomes the problem of finding suitable sites. According to an Australian research team, closed-loop systems could prevail on open-loop systems in the future and this trend is confirmed by another group of scientists from the United States.

Scientists in Germany developed a method to determine the structure and degradation of module backsheets and encapsulants in the field, by analyzing the material’s near infrared light transmission. Applying the theory to a multi-MW PV plant, the group was able to identify four different backsheet types. With further development, the method could be a valuable tool to monitor module degradation in the field and spot faults early on.

The Italian power electronics specialist has launched a single-phase inverter, a three-phase device, and a residential battery. The three products will be available for sale starting from January.

Mondragon Assembly’s continuous string process technique is purportedly 10% more productive than a standard stringing machine.

Australia’s clean energy transition is set to accelerate in the coming years with a new report suggesting that most Australian homes and businesses will have switched to PV modules paired with batteries by 2030, giving the nation the highest per capita penetration of renewables in the world.

U.S. based renewables investor Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners this week announced that it has acquired a 350 MW PV and storage project set to be built in the Southeast of England. The project has already received planning permission from the UK government, and its new owner expects to begin construction in the first half of 2022.

The second quarter of 2021 was the 4th best on record as the U.S. installed 5.7 GW of capacity.