Cleaning robot for floating PV
A cleaning robot optimized for floating PV installations was developed by German manufacturer TG hyLIFT. Also suitable for ground-mount PV, it uses only water without any type of detergent, and is powered by batteries. The robot is now being tested at a floating PV array in Spain.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Increasing polysilicon prices and new supply deals
PV Infolink reported a considerable increase in prices for polysilicon and wafer prices for last week. Both products saw their average price increase by over 9% compared to the previous week.
Dutch startup develops offshore floating PV platform
Dutch startup SolarDuck has developed a triangular structure for floating PV that resembles an offshore oil platform. CEO Koen Burgers told pv magazine that it keeps panels more than 3 meters above the water surface, and claimed that the structure can handle waves and dynamic loads. It will be used in a Dutch pilot project from April.
Kenyan utility kicks off tender for small solar parks
KTDA Power Company is seeking developers for up to ten small-sized solar parks. The facilities are expected to have a capacity of between 300 kW and 1 MW.
Novel solar module transport solution from Australia
Safety when transporting solar PV modules from warehouse to job site is an ongoing issue for installers but one Australian solar company has designed and manufactured a simple yet effective racking system that helps allay those concerns. The racking system comprises an aluminum frame fitted with opposing channels into which the solar modules slide.
African Development Bank lends $27.2 million for 200 MW solar park in Egypt
The $156.4 million Kom Ombo photovoltaic solar power plant is being developed by Saudi energy giant ACWA Power.
Austria’s largest PV plant comes online
The 11.5 MW solar park is operated by Austrian power provider Wien Energie. The plant includes sheep farming.
Solar surpasses wind in India
In January, India’s cumulative PV capacity reached 38.8 GW. This was enough to surpass wind and make solar the first renewable energy source in the country.
Simulating PV’s silver future
Scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE developed a model to simulate different setups for screen printing in solar cell metallization. The model provides a comparable ‘screen utility index’ value that can predict the usefulness of different architectures in the printing equipment in relation to the properties of a given silver paste. The approach, says Fraunhofer, will assist the PV industry in reducing the amounts of silver needed in silicon cell manufacturing.
Australia expects 100,000 tons of waste PV modules by 2035
Researchers at the University of South Australia are spearheading a national push to establish a stewardship scheme to manage the impacts of PV systems through their life cycle, as increasing numbers of decommissioned solar PV modules threaten a waste management nightmare.
