Solar Power

Flat Glass has activated two new glass furnaces that will bring its total production capacity to 8,600 MT per day. JinkoSolar has secured 20 GW of orders for its 182mm-wafer-based modules.

Researchers in the Netherlands have sought to identify all those semiconductor materials that may make the application of carrier multiplication in photovoltaics much more than a mere suggestion. According to them, the bandgap of the materials should be between 0.6–1.0 electronvolt (eV), which would result in maximum theoretical efficiency of around 44%. 2D and bulk materials were indicated as the most promising with near-ideal carrier multiplication.

Solar project developers in France will have until June 25, 2021, to submit their bids. Under new rules, the selected PV projects must use modules manufactured with a low carbon footprint.

Around 88,000 energy storage systems linked to rooftop PV were installed last year in the country, which supports residential batteries through a dedicated scheme.

The Italian regulation about renewable energy communities entered into force last December. Market operators are now working to establish renewable energy communities (RECs) in Italy. Ènostra coop is currently completing the feasibility study for the development of two RECs in Sardinia. pv magazine spoke with project manager Christian Bartolomeo.

The procurement exercise will be the country’s second attempt to support large-scale solar and wind. The first 88 MW auction launched last year saw the allocation of just 25.5 MW. Solar secured 13.4 MW at an average price of $0.093/kWh. Selected PV projects range in size from 50 to 500 kW.

The Australian Energy Regulator says that investments in renewables and rooftop solar uptake are driving the ongoing decline in electricity prices.

India’s new solar capacity additions in the third quarter of the country’s 2020-21 fiscal year were well above the 928 MW installed in the preceding July-September quarter.

SunPower’s distributed-generation services platform, as well as storage and digital solutions, will be key to its long-term growth, CEO Tom Werner said in an earnings call this week.

The novel methodology can be used for 71 countries located across ‘sun belt’ areas of east Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. The model relies on 2014 and 2015 geo-referenced datasets in various formats and spatial resolutions, as well as on a population dataset based on global human settlements (GHSL) and World Bank national-level estimates of electrification.