Inverter manufacturers tapped into the major theme of digitization in their product presentations at this year’s Smarter E event in Munich – of which Intersolar Europe is a part of. The solutions deploy smart software solutions for maximizing self-consumption, O&M provision and enable hybrid architectures across all three market segments.

U.S.-based tracker supplier Array Technologies took part in the panel discussion on bifacial technology at the Future PV Roundtable during Intersolar Europe last week. pv magazine caught up with panelist Caesar Alberte, VP International, to discuss the company’s new CEO and its work on bifacial tracking.

Distribution network operator, UK Power Networks is on track to launch what it says is London’s first virtual power plant (VPP). To this end, batteries will be installed on around 40 homes in the U.K. capital.

Following Monday’s announcement, pv magazine spoke to Lior Handelsman, of SolarEdge. The company VP is adamant Huawei has infringed the Israeli firm’s intellectual property, and says defending IP will see the PV industry grow.

ESB and Oersted UK independently announced this week they have acquired storage assets to deliver ancillary services to the UK grid operator.

The inverter manufacturer alleges that its patented DC optimized inverter technology has been infringed on in the German market. It adds that Huawei’s residential inverters use an architecture, which violates its patents. Huawei has said it is “evaluating the claims”, however it does not believe it has infringed any valid patent rights.

Solar PV capacity is set to grow 17-fold, and wind six-fold, by 2050, to account for nearly half of global electricity generation, predicts BNEF, while investments will reach US$11.5 trillion. Cost reductions will drive this charge, particularly in the battery market, which will benefit from the EV manufacturing ramp up. Despite this, the electricity sector is still failing to bring CO₂ emissions down to the required levels, with its continued dependence on gas.

German-based Innogy SE’s US subsidiary will gain exclusive rights for the acquisition of 13 solar PV projects currently owned by Birdseye Renewable Energy LLC. The projects have a cumulative capacity of 440MW and are at various stages of development.

Researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Oxford PV have presented a new record perovskite tandem solar cell, with a 25.2% conversion efficiency, independently verified by Fraunhofer ISE. Bernd Stannowski, from HZB presented the results this week at the World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-7) in Hawaii.

Citing the need for ancillary grid services, due to increasing amounts of variable renewable energy assets being installed in the U.K., the two comapnies are stressing the stability this project will bring to the country’s grid.