Emiliano Bellini
Romania allocates 432 MW of PV at average price of €0.051/kWh in first renewables auction
The Romanian authorities have allocated 1.52 GW of renewable energy capacity in a procurement exercise, with the lowest bid for PV technology at €0.045 ($0.047)/kWh.
Sino-American Silicon to halt production at solar cell factory
Sino-American Silicon (SAS) says it will suspend production at its solar cell factory in Taiwan from Jan. 7 to Feb. 4.
Dualsun presents heat pump-compatible residential PVT panel
The French manufacturer said its PVT module features a PV module efficiency of up to 21.8% and a thermal output ranging from 459 W/m2.
JA Solar claims world record open-circuit voltage for TOPCon solar cell
The Chinese manufacturer said its Bycium+ PV cell achieved an open-circuit voltage of 748.6 mV. The result was confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin.
Daikin launches air-to-water heat pumps for single-family homes
Daikin has released a line of residential heat pumps, using propane (R290) as the refrigerant, with outdoor unit dimensions of 1,122 mm x 1,330 mm x 600 mm. The new products have an output ranging from 6 kW to 14 kW and can reportedly deliver hot water up to 75 C.
Improving vertical bifacial PV system performance with free-space luminescent solar concentrators
New research from the Netherlands shows that using free-space luminescent solar concentrators could be used to considerably increase bifacial solar module performance in vertical residential setups. The scientists are confident that a variety of bifacial PV systems incorporating this technology can be designed and deployed in the future.
How to retrofit wind farms into hybrid wind-solar plants
A Norwegian-Swedish research group has used multiple linear regression to assess if 128 existing wind power plants in the Nordics could be potentially converted into wind-solar plants with cost-optimal PV capacities and good net present value (NPV) levels. Their modeling could potentially be used in all countries and latitudes.
FHE Group presents thermal battery for solar power storage
The French company says its Inelio thermal battery can store solar power in the form of heat for heating and cooling applications, as well as for producing domestic hot water, while maximizing self-consumption. It can reportedly provide a hot water temperature of up to 65 C.
Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell based on wide-bandgap top device achieves 33.10% efficiency
Researchers in China have integrated a wide-bandgap perovskite solar cell with a hybrid back contact device in a four-terminal tandem cell that achieves high efficiency and stability. Key for the strong performance was a new surface passivation strategy that the research group adopted for the top cell.
Combining floating PV with compressed air energy storage
Researchers from Egypt and the UK developed a new floating PV system concept that utilizes compressed air for energy storage. The system has a roundtrip efficiency of 34.1% and an exergy efficiency of 41%.
