Highlights

The Netherlands added 1.94 GW of new solar to reach 16.85 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity at the end of June 2022, which was beyond initial expectations.

Germany’s newly installed PV capacity for November consisted of 596 MW of subsidized systems and 73 MW of installations built without public support. In the first 11 months of 2022, the country added around 6.8 GW of new solar capacity.

Japan’s Okinawa Electric Power Co. has introduced PV curtailment measures in response to high solar radiation levels and low energy demand.

UK scientists have examined the impacts of potential-induced degradation (PID) in solar cells and modules, based on a field study from a 1.2 MW PV system in Spain. Meanwhile, in a separate study, scientists in Japan have created a model for one of the less-investigated PID mechanisms, creating a model of its progress that will be useful in future research and mitigation efforts.

Scientists in Singapore have reviewed all thermal evaporation techniques for the production of perovskite solar cells and modules. Despite limitations, the new methods could lead to high production throughputs and more efficient products.

Erthos claims that with its new installation method, solar facilities could occupy just one-third of the surface covered by conventional PV plants, potentially reducing installations costs by up to 20%.

Equium has developed a new thermo-acoustic heat pump core that reportedly produces 3 kW to 4 kW of heat for every kilowatt of power it consumes. It says the refrigerant-free device could generate domestic hot water at temperatures of up to 80 C.

Chinese scientists have developed a new way to split seawater into hydrogen without using a separate desalination process. They incorporated a self-breathable waterproof membrane and a self-dampening electrolyte (SDE) into the electrolyzer, so water migrates from the seawater across the membrane to the SDE, without extra energy consumption.

It was a good year for the inverter market. Strong demand was only stifled by supply chain limits, but new inverters are less innovative and show a slower evolution in improvements. Nevertheless, more versatile options are emerging in response to the energy crisis.

China’s Three Gorges New Energy has started building the first 1 GW phase of solar-plus-storage capacity for a planned 16 GW mega-project in Inner Mongolia’s Kubuqi Desert. Upon completion, the massive installation will include 8 GW of solar, 4 GW of wind, and 4 GW of upgraded coal capacity.