New York hits 1GW of community solar
The state has become the United States’ largest and most active community solar market, with a pipeline boasting more than 700 potential community solar installations
Delta launches new solar inverter series for residential, commercial PV
The new solar inverter series can achieve maximum efficiency of 98.7% and a European efficiency rating of 98.5%. Its rated power ranges from 15 to 20kW.
Enel, CEA achieve 24.47% efficiency in gallium-doped p-type heterojunction solar cell
Manufactured with wafers provided by Chinese PV producer Longi, the industrial-sized cells are able to provide a fill factor of 82.05%.
Large-area reference solar cell for high precision measurements
Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH) has partnered with engineering company Mencke und Tegtmeyer GmbH (IB-MuT) to develop a large-area reference solar cell for high precision cell measurements. The BigRef device is claimed to be the only rugged encapsulated large-area reference solar cell available on the market.
Creative thinking for vertical east-west bifacial PV projects
A Finnish-Norwegian research group has assessed the global potential of vertical east-west bifacial PV (VBPV) projects and found that these installations may provide a low LCOE at Nordic latitudes, in Central Europe and subtropical desert areas. The researchers also found that residential and commercial VBPV systems are a grid-friendly solution for low-voltage networks when compared to monofacial arrays.
Vikram Solar files for IPO to raise funds for 2GW integrated solar fab
The Kolkata-headquartered solar manufacturer has filed draft papers with SEBI for its initial public offering (IPO), which comprises a fresh issue of up to INR 1,500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to five million equity shares by the existing shareholders.
Sola Group secures PPA for 200MW of solar capacity in South Africa
The planned solar capacity should be fully operational by the fourth quarter of 2023. Titanium products provider Tronoxhe will purchase the electricity.
Belgium extends VAT reduction for residential PV, heat pumps
Belgium’s federal government has decided to reduce to 6% the VAT on PV systems and heat pumps deployed on buildings erected over the past ten years. This measure was previously applied only to projects developed on buildings that were more than ten years old.
Pumped hydro as ‘ultimate’ storage solution for Australia’s energy transition
Pumped hydro energy storage is ideally positioned to support reliability and reduce volatility in the energy market as Australia shifts from fossil fuels towards renewable power with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull labeling the technology the “ultimate long-duration storage” solution.
Hanwha commits to US manufacturing across the supply chain
Hanwha Solutions becomes the largest shareholder of REC Silicon and, pending passage of SEMA, commits to a multi-phase, multi-billion-dollar expansion across the full solar energy supply chain.
