PV modules

Portuguese electric utility EDP will supply power to Dutch nutrition, health and sustainable lifestyle multinational Royal DSM. The agreement relates to 59 MW of solar and wind generation capacity.

The building-integrated PV devices have taken a big leap forward on the back of a partnership between Australian scientists and a major glass manufacturer which will investigate the use of semi-transparent solar cells in commercial applications, potentially revolutionizing building design.

Dutch solar distributor Enie is offering to buy rooftop PV systems from cash-strapped owners who will then receive a monthly leasing fee before regaining ownership of the hardware a decade on. The company will pay around 85% of the initial cost of the arrays but said it will not consider systems with ‘poor’ design or components.

Scientists in the U.K. have developed a system which makes panels vibrate to provide cleaning. The academics have conceded, however, they are yet to calculate the ‘sweet spot’ of mechanical stress to be applied.

The Italian market saw a year-on-year increase in new installations as several unsubsidized solar parks came online. Most of last year’s new capacity arrived in November and December. The regions with largest volumes were big-solar magnets Apulia and Sardinia.

While the volume of combined imports and exports slumped from almost 2 GW in December to 1.49 GW in January and 1.36 GW in February, the price per kilowatt rose dramatically in the second month of the year.

The project was selected in a tender for storage deployment in non mainland grid interconnected areas that was finalized by France’s Energy Regulatory Commission in 2016.

Dutch company Triple Solar has launched a photovoltaic thermal solar panel for residential buildings which can be connected to a brine or water heat pump. The manufacturer says the heating system based on the panel is an ideal alternative to less efficient air and water heat pumps and more expensive geothermal systems. The grid-connected PV system can export excess power under net metering programs.

The government wants to see off a potential slump in the PV market as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The increase means CHF376 million worth of rebates will be available for solar systems.

U.S. scientists have demonstrated a perovskite-silicon tandem cell they claim has low reflectance losses and strong potential for commercial production. The tandem architecture involves a manufacturing process featuring the solution-based blading of perovskites onto textured silicon wafers.