Solar PV

The module maker has started producing solar modules at its fab in Liebenfels.

Spanish researchers have discovered a material said to offer radiative cooling and self-cleaning of devices which undergo critical heating during operation, such as PV panels. The thermal emitter enabled the scientists to lower the daytime temperature of silicon wafers by 14 degrees Celsius.

Grid operator Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne has published figures demonstrating the country had 1,007.2 MW of solar at the end of September, with 600 MW of new PV coming online in the first nine months of the year. The Polish government expects total capacity to reach 1.3 GW this year.

A project on Isabela Island in Ecuador’s Galapagos archipelago has given its 3,500 inhabitants energy generated by local resources, including plant oil produced on the continent. Preferable to a logistically challenging and hyper expensive extension of the mainland grid, if the $13 million island system were installed today, it would be cheaper than when it was contracted four years ago.

Electricity regulator ANEEL has proposed applying a fee for solar systems with up to 5 MW of generation capacity and reducing energy payments for participants in the nation’s net metering program.

The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency expects the nation’s solar generation capacity to have increased by another 5 GW by the end of next year, from around 4.4 GW at the end of 2018. By the end of 2023, installed PV capacity is predicted to reach approximately 15 GW.

The Korean Ministry of Defense has said the huge project will not interfere with the flight operations of U.S. forces stationed in a base near Saemangeum, an estuarine tidal flat on the coast of the Yellow Sea where the plant would be deployed.

PV is expected to claim 44% of the clean energy capacity needed to generate 2.4 TWh of electricity in the next two years but potentially gas driven co-generation is also set for big gains. The Ministry of Economy could announce the first auction this year. Energy company Slovenský plynárenský priemysel will be the off-taker.

The EU member state added 418 MW of new solar in the first six months of the year and its energy regulator expects another 1.4 GW in the years ahead, as a result of the METAR incentives scheme introduced in 2017. The regulator has also announced a pilot renewables auction with the results expected early next year.

Research from Canada has revealed liquid-like lineshape dynamics in cesium-lead iodide perovskite nanocrystals. The findings could be used to produce cheaper and more efficient perovskite cells, researchers claim.