Solar PV

EuPD Research has conducted a survey showing that potential investors see Germany’s 52 GW cap for solar incentives in the residential segment as the main barrier to future growth. Renewable energy trade body Bundesverband Neue Energiewirtschaft, meanwhile, said the nation has the potential to reach 1,000 GW of installed solar capacity by 2050.

French organic PV module manufacturer Armor said it began manufacturing free-form PV modules in early April. The new technology will allow the company’s ASCA PV film to be produced in a range of different shapes.

According to the 2020 World Silver Survey 2020 by the U.S.-based Silver Institute, the metal’s price will decline by only 3% this year, despite the impact that the Covid-19 crisis will also have on demand. In the global PV industry, silver demand is forecast to drop 3% from 98.7 million ounces in 2019 to 96.1 million ounces this year.

Atamostec, a private-public initiative supported by Chile’s government-run Production Development Corp. and several industrial partners, has developed a new module. The team claims that the bifacial panel offers an additional annual average gain of 11% compared to monofacial PERC modules with the same cell technology.

Researchers from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory have developed a tool to balance customer curtailment and grid stability. The “Precise” tool for utilities provides unique inverter settings tailored to each customer, with minimal investment and labor for companies that use it.

A group of researchers from India is trying to apply a special phase change material to regulate temperature in copper, indium and selenium solar panels. Phase change materials are substances that are capable of storing thermal energy, allowing for the stabilization of temperature.

Historically underreported by the U.S. Fire Administration, fires at solar installations rose 36% from 2017 to 2018. With residential installations representing the majority of fires, infrared imaging could be the key to bringing the number down.

Today’s edition of the Official Journal of the French Republic featured two long-awaited decrees: One concerning the multi-year energy program and another on national carbon budgets and the state’s low-carbon strategy.

The debt-saddled South African utility has issued an expression of interest to seek proposals on how to refurbish three fossil fuel power plants to be decommissioned in the current decade. Eskom said that all of the proposed solutions should be at the tech-readiness level.

Hungarian tech company Platio has developed solar pavement for outdoor applications in urban environments, homes, office buildings, shopping malls, and public infrastructure projects. The pavement consists of solar tiles that may cost between €50 and €80, depending on the size and characteristics of projects.