Dubai confirms Saudi’s ACWA won 900 MW solar project tender with $0.016953/kWh bid
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority said the solar generation capacity is expected to come online in the second quarter of 2021. The tender will constitute the fifth phase of the mammoth 5 GW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
German customs authorities accuse IBC Solar of smuggling Chinese PV modules
Investigators have accused the Bad Staffelstein-based business of having purchased incorrectly-declared modules from China and evading around €23 million in import duties. The company’s head office and the private apartments of board members have been searched.
Pakistan gas field powered by 10 MW off-grid solar system
Italian oil and gas company Eni has completed a solar park at its Bhit Gas Field. The plant, which took six months to build, is integrated into the field’s generation system.
Scientists hit 21.6% perovskite cell efficiency using concentrator PV
An international research group achieved the result on a 9 sq mm, triple-cation based, n-i-p structured perovskite cell using low solar concentration levels. Device instability, however, remains a challenge.
Indian Railways eyes 500 MW of rooftop solar by 2021-22
With 95.67 MW already installed on railway buildings, a further 248.46 MW, awarded by the Railway Energy Management Company Limited, is under development.
Solar-plus-storage vs grid enhancement – Part VI
Two projects have been deployed by Canopy Power on private islands in Indonesia. The two 52.5 kW/77 kWh mini-grids were the only alternative to diesel generators due to the lack of a connection with the grid on the island of Batam. The projects – which rely on REC Solar modules, SMA inverters and a storage system from Tesvolt – provide around half of the energy required on their respective islands.
Sonnen household battery owners offered revenue from grid balancing services
The German storage system provider intends to use its ‘Sonnen-Flat’ payment package to help customers benefit from the proceeds of its virtual power plant.
Solar and wind offer safest route to decarbonized electricity mix
The mature renewable energies are the most efficient power resources to slow down global warming and reduce human health impacts, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. The authors claim renewable energy generation capacity is also the best way to reduce land use, toxicity and drinking water depletion.
Solar parks help biodiversity by recreating pre-industrial soil conditions
Ground-mounted PV systems promote biodiversity according to a new study published in Germany. Scientists collected data from 75 MW of solar plants nationwide and found the areas they were located in showed greater diversity and more intact habitat structures and found panels provide a refuge for animals.
Essent expands into renewables with acquisition of Vandebron
Dutch gas and power provider Essent has agreed to buy the Amsterdam-based renewables marketplace for an undisclosed sum. Vandebron sells electricity aggregated from wind, solar and biomass projects.
