Funding secured for 237.6 MW merchant solar plant in Bulgaria
Up to €103 million ($107.2 million), from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Raiffeisen Bank International, will support the development of a fully-merchant, 237.6 MW solar project in southeastern Bulgaria.
Italy approves 6 GW of utility-scale solar in first 10 months of 2024
Italy’s regional governments approved 6 GW of utility-scale solar projects between January and October 2024, according to updates from Terna’s Econnextion map. Most of these projects are concentrated in Sicily, Lazio, Puglia, Sardinia, and Basilicata.
Brazil’s largest microgrid goes online
Brazil’s largest microgrid has gone online at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). The CampusGrid project combines a 565 kW solar system with a 1 MW high-capacity battery energy storage system (BESS).
Agrivoltaics can improve water conservation in Africa
Research led by the University of Sheffield installed an off-grid agrivoltaic system in Tanzania and a grid-tied agrivoltaic system in Kenya. They found the installations helped boost crop yield and conserve water while generating electricity at a lower cost than the national grid.
Serbia sets maximum solar price of €72/MWh for second renewables auction
Serbia’s upcoming second renewables auction, scheduled for later this month, aims to procure 124.8 MW of solar power with a ceiling price of €72 ($75.30)/MWh. This price is lower than the €90/MWh ceiling offered in the country’s first renewables auction last year.
Solarwatt presents new residential battery
German manufacturer Solarwatt says its new battery can be flexibly configured as an AC or DC system. It also features an emergency power function and can only be combined with Solarwatt inverters.
Coatema launches roll-to-roll production lines for organic, perovskite, dye-sensitized solar cells
German PV equipment company Coatema Coating Machinery says its roll-to-roll processing solutions cover from lab or pilot to production scale.
Scientists design 30.22%-efficient perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell with heterojunction bottom tech
An international research team has developed a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell with a hole transport layer based on methyl-substituted carbazole and submicron-sized textured silicon bottom heterojunction cells. The proposed cell configuration uses commercially available Czochralski silicon wafers and promises efficiencies over 30%.
Silfab secures $100 million for US solar cell production
Silfab Solar has secured $100 million to scale solar cell production in South Carolina. The funding includes a $50 million equity investment and a matching green loan.
Global solar module prices stable-to-soft as markets absorb news of U.S. election, policy changes
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.
