France launches three solar tenders for 2 GW of capacity
Two procurement exercises will be for ground-mounted PV and will be launched in January and June. A third tender, scheduled for February, will concern rooftop PV.
Uzbekistan launches rebate program for rooftop PV
The Uzbek government last week opened a rooftop solar program which provides 30% of the initial costs for buying and installing a PV system, up to around $320 per project. Tax incentives are also available.
French scientists try to uncover the secrets of black perovskite
X-ray analysis is said to have solved the mystery of how to preserve optical absorption in perovskite layers. Researchers say the discovery could help stabilize the material and speed up the launch of a new ingredient for PV research.
There are –data missing– solar power fires per year
International data suggests that fires caused by rooftop solar power systems are rare; however, the United States doesn’t centrally track this information – with the National Fire Data Center classifying them in the “other” category.
China added 11.4 GW of solar capacity in first half of this year
According to official statistics produced by the nation’s National Energy Administration, China’s cumulative installed PV generation capacity had reached 185.5 GW at the end of June.
Heraeus claims module output increases by 2.1% with new ribbon
The performance of the company’s Selectively Coated Ribbons was measured for more than a year in a field test. Heraeus says the yield gains are achieved by the device’s optical properties – said to enable improved reflection – even at low angles of incidence and in low-light conditions.
Polish mining company to deploy solar on dead coal sites
Poland’s second largest power company, Tauron, wants to build a 5 MW ground-mounted facility in Jaworzno and is seeking EPC contractors through a tender. The project is part of the company’s plan to deploy PV on its unused sites.
Another 300 MW solar auction for Japan
The procurement exercise, which closes tomorrow, will be open to projects larger than 500 kW in size. The results will be announced on September 3.
Renewables and geopolitics: ‘There won’t be as much to fight over’
In the latest installment of pv magazine’s renewable energy and geopolitics series, Indra Overland says a new mindset is necessary to understand the geopolitics ahead as the rules of the fossil fuel era will no longer apply. A renewable world will have fewer strategic locations and bottlenecks and less territorial competition.
The Chinese solar market is changing shape
Two reports have described how the world’s largest renewable energy market is moving towards maturity. According to the Brookings Institution, the Chinese clean energy market could become more open to Western investors and tech. A report by Fitch claims projects are moving back to inland provinces from coastal regions.
