Solar arrays on canals
PV installations on canals are common in India, as they provide electricity without occupying land, while reducing evaporation. However, they are still more expensive than ground-mounted PV projects.
Dutch water agency to install more PV along highways
The Dutch water management agency plans to install solar along a highway in Overijssel. The project is part of a plan to build projects on state land, as the Dutch PV sector continues to search for alternative surfaces on which to deploy PV.
First PPA-linked solar park in Zambia
Zambia-based GreenCo Power is seeking independent power producers for the construction of a solar park with a capacity of up to 40 MW in the sub-Saharan country. The pilot project will be the first in taking advantage of new rules that liberalized the Zambian energy market by enabling bilateral power purchase agreements.
20 MW/5 MWh solar-plus-storage project set to begin construction in Malawi
The Golomoti solar plant is expected to come online in 2022. The plant will be used to provide grid stability and reduce national dependence on diesel generators and hydroelectric generation.
III-V multi-junction solar cell with 39% efficiency
Finnish scientists have developed a four-junction solar cell based on III-V semiconductor materials that is said to be able to achieve a wide spectral coverage. The cell was monolithically grown on gallium arsenide by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).
Australia’s largest energy provider acquires solar installers
AGL has revealed plans to acquire Epho and Solgen Energy Group, which will make it Australia’s largest climate polluter and its largest commercial solar provider.
New power electronic device to manage surplus solar power–Part II
The first pilot tests have been conducted for the EU-funded project ‘renewable penetration levered by efficient low-voltage distribution grids (RESOLvD). pv magazine has looked into the demonstrator and the related energy sharing algorithm.
Sumitomo Mitsui Construction deploys in-house floating PV tech
Sumitomo Mitsui Construction has used its PuKaTTo proprietary tech for a 2 MW floating PV project in Japan’s Kagawa prefecture. It said its durable, easily deployable floats can host 60-cell and 72-cell solar modules.
Hybrid operational strategy to use lithium-ion storage in commercial PV arrays
Lithium-ion batteries can not only improve self-consumption in commercial PV systems but are also able to efficiently perform peak shaving and price arbitrage, according to an international research group which has proposed a new strategy to calculate the best system configuration in terms of costs and revenue. The scientists specified, however, that the novel strategy may become effective only if storage system prices will drop under $250/kWh.
First Solar signals interest in US tellurium supplies for solar panel production
Rio Tinto plans to spend nearly $3 million on a facility in Utah to recover tellurium, a critical mineral used in solar panels.
