Reducing PV module temperature with air convection
Scientists have analyzed how forced convection PV, free convection with finned plate PV, and forced convection with finned plate PV can reduce solar module temperatures under the climate conditions of Lebanon.
Gambia seeking project supervisor for solar minigrid
The Gambia office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is seeking a contractor to oversee a solar minigrid installation and support the tender process for an installer. Applications close on June 10.
Solar to power Denmark’s largest energy community
Denmark’s largest energy community is now under construction, featuring more than 30,000 sqm of solar rooftops with a total capacity of about 4 MW. The project will use building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) on pitched roofs and building-attached photovoltaics (BAPV) on flat roofs from Danish specialist Solartag.
Work starts on 5 MW of solar in Madagascar
Construction has begun on a 5 MW solar plant with 3.2 MWh of battery storage off Madagascar’s northwestern coast. The project aims to cut local electricity costs and support round-the-clock power supply.
Floating PV systems could increase the climate resilience of lakes
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) has conducted new research on the impact of floating PV and water temperature and evaporation.
Greece now interconnected with Crete via 1 GW transmission line
A 1 GW direct current (DC) transmission line linking mainland Greece to Crete has entered trial operation, with full commercial service expected by September to support new green power capacity and future interconnections with Cyprus, Israel and Egypt.
New model to predict moisture ingress in photovoltaic modules
Researchers in Netherlands and Belgium have created a numerical model to simulate the moisture ingress in PV modules. Their research work showed that climate in which a PV module is installed has a much higher impact on the moisture ingress than the choice of materials for the encapsulant of the backsheet.
Supercharging pumped-hydro stations with floating PV
Scientists have simulated the addition of floating solar panels to Switzerland’s Etzelwerk, an open-loop pumped-storage hydropower plant. Using 10% of the upper reservoir for the solar panels, the research team was able to add about 20% of the energy output.
Germany’s FC St. Pauli to install rainbow-colored stadium PV array
German soccer club FC St. Pauli is installing a 316 kW rainbow-colored photovoltaic system on its stadium roof using 1,080 modules supplied by Switzerland’s Megasol Energie.
New control strategy for PV-driven air source heat pumps
Researchers in China have developed a new methodology to improve the performance of solar-powered air source heat pumps. The proposed approach reportedly increases the energy efficiency of optimized building systems by 18%, with solar energy potentially reducing their carbon content by 37.78%.
