Wind, solar production falls at 2023 end, but demand expected at 2024 beginning
According to data collected by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting, wind and solar energy production in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula fell in the last week of 2023 contributing to price rises, but in the new year electricity demand is expected to increase in all analyzed markets.
US battery storage demand to surge within this decade, says SEIA
US demand for battery energy storage systems will grow sixfold by 2030, according to a recent report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), but only with serious investment, coordination with experienced manufacturers, and collaboration with allies.
Make PV modules as cheap as possible, but not cheaper
In a new monthly column for pv magazine, the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) explains how reducing glass thickness in PV modules may fracture the solar industry, impacting PV module and PV tracker suppliers, engineering, product and construction companies, and PV plant owners.
Solar Philippines begins working on 4 GW solar park
Solar Philippines says it has broken ground on what it touted to be the world’s largest solar array – a 4 GW solar park spread across 3,500 hectares of land in the northern part of the country.
Italian startup unveils 350 W balcony TOPCon solar modules
Fly Solartech Solutions Srl’s new 60-cell modules have a power conversion efficiency of 17.87% and a temperature coefficient of -0.27% per degree Celsius. The company offers the panels with 300 W, CEI-021-certified microinverters featuring 96.5% peak efficiency.
Solar-assisted heat pump for biomass drying
Scientists from Finland have built an experimental system that allows the drying of woody biomass with solar thermal energy and a heat pump. They claim PV may play a complementary role in the proposed setup.
More than half of eligible schools enlist in new solar scheme in Ireland
Ireland’s Department of Education says that just over 900 schools out of 1,600 eligible facilities have signed up to participate in the government’s first round of the Solar for Schools Programme, a nationally funded scheme to cover the costs of 6 kW roof-mounted solar installations.
Researchers apply thresholding to PV soiling image analysis
Thresholding methods have commonly been used to characterize the soiling accumulated on glass coupons. Researchers led by the Sapienza University of Rome have identified 16 automatic thresholding methods that may be used for analyzing soiling on PV panels.
Novel tin selenide solar cell design promises 36.45% efficiency
Tin selenide solar cells have so far reached limited efficiencies in real applications. Bangladeshi scientists claim to have found a way to drastically improve their performance by adding a copper/indium/selenium (CIS) thin-film layer and a back surface field (BSF) layer.
Topography-induced shading on floating PV
Researchers in Turkey have studied the impacts of topography-induced shading on floating PV at the Ayvalı hydroelectric power plant and have identified differences between the regions with the highest and lowest electricity production potential.
