Solar Power

The first Horizon folding rooftop has been installed above a parking lot in Switzerland, where it will generate power for on-site consumption, including EV charging.

Researchers in France have tried to predict the competitiveness of tandem PV modules against commercial crystalline products in 2030. Crystalline products will be 22-24% efficient in a decade, according to the researchers, possibly 25% if interdigitated back-contact heterojunction versions become mainstream. To compete, tandem devices will need to offer similar life spans and degradation rates, plus efficiencies of 30%.

The government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has drafted secondary legislation aimed at easing the construction of large scale energy storage projects for renewables. Around 100 such batteries could be deployed thanks to the proposed rules, according to the department.

4 GW of offshore wind and land-based renewables are set to come to the Empire State, as governor Andrew Cuomo looks to achieve the state’s renewable energy mandates while also kickstarting a post-Covid economy.

State-owned power company China Three Gorges is reportedly ready to offer up to €600 million for 13 solar assets owned by X-Elio in Spain while Germany’s ib vogt is up for sale, according to Reuters.

Scientists in the U.S. have estimated the expense of strengthening solar systems. The researchers stressed that the upfront investment needed to take 13 key measures may be outweighed by the benefits.

Danish researchers have shown that adding 250 W solar panels to all of the buggies in a 50-cart fleet is a profitable investment. With an upfront investment of around €75,000, annual benefits of around €15,000 are possible, they claim.

The Council of Ministers has urgently approved royal decrees to regulate the clean energy procurement rounds and procedures for the grid connection of large scale projects.

Cumulative solar generation capacity reached 2.5 GW last year, enough to meet 3.8% of electricity demand.

Australian researchers have revealed a new cell that builds on an earlier 24.4%-efficient device. The upgrade was achieved with an oxide-nitride-oxide passivation stack which optimized diffusion and contact-area fraction, plus improved texturing with a monoTEX surfactant.