2024

The provincial government of Prince Edward Island, Canada, has signed an agreement with the Canadian federal government to implement the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) program. The scheme offers grants to low- and medium-income households to install heat pumps and has nationally delivered more than 7,000 units to date.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) researchers have gained insights into perovskite microstructure. After removing grain surface concavities in the crystalline grains of perovskite, they fabricated a solar cell with improved efficiency retention under standardized thermal cycling, damp heat, and maximum-power-point tracking tests.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat has criticized China for an alleged lack of transparency in its state support framework and has urged the nation to improve its subsidy notification process.

Panama has canceled an auction it announced in February for 500 MW of renewable energy capacity. It would have been the country’s first renewable energy tender in a decade and the first in Central America to include battery storage systems.

Grid operator Enedis said last week that France installed 1,013 MW of new PV systems in the second quarter alone. If the current growth rate continues in the second half, the country could install record capacity in 2024.

As frameless PV modules are gradually becoming a mainstream trend in the industry, DAH Solar’s R&D Director, Dr. Jiang Chengyin, says the company’s design for its 3.0 Full-Screen product version further improves energy yield while lowering costs and reducing the likelihood of fractures.

India’s Union Budget will be presented next week. Developers in the country hope for lower goods and services tax (GST) and import duties on solar components, as well as a delay in enforcing the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) until domestic supplies improve.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners’ plan to build a “state-of-the-art” polysilicon manufacturing plant in Australia has taken a step forward, with Australian Silica Quartz starting a drilling program at a planned mine site that could provide feedstock for the proposed facility.

Germany-based Phytonics has developed a self-adhesive film with microstructures to reduce glare on PV modules. It is available in sheets and rolls for new and existing PV systems.

Romania is aiming to have at least 2.5 GW of energy storage installed by the end of next year and to exeed 5 GW only a year later.