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.
Japanese scientists develop dye-sensitized cell with 10.7% efficiency
The improved performance was achieved by using a methylene bridged material, the molecular dye DfZnP-iPr.
PV for cooking
Traditional solar cookers concentrate sunlight on mirrored surfaces and convert it into heat. But this summer, Sunspot unveiled Sunspot Solar Electric Cooking, a new cooker based on PV technology. The system relies on two PV modules, a lead-carbon battery, an inverter, and an induction cooktop.
Polysilicon prices to rebound in September
Average spot polysilicon price has crossed below the $8/kg threshold for the first time, according to PVInsights. Market analyst Johannes Bernreuter said, however, that the industry should not read too much into $8/kg as a historical threshold and that prices may rise again in September, driven by strong demand in the Chinese market.
Mali launches tender for solar-plus-storage
The country’s agency for rural electrification is seeking proposals for a 1.3 MW solar project and a 1.5 MW/2 MWh storage system.
DEWA to use solar to power new pumped-storage project
The Dubai Water and Electricity Authority will use energy from the gigawatt-scale Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to provide a new hydropower plant with pumped storage capacity. The state-owned utility has announced a number of innovations for the project in recent months, including plans for hydrogen and large-scale storage capacity.
Perpetum to build world’s largest solar carport in Belgium
The 20 MW plant will feature 62,750 solar panels. Installer Perpetum Energy plans to commission the project in the spring of 2020.
Philippines utility Meralco seeks new capacity, including renewables
The power company has launched three procurement auctions for a total of 2.9 GW of power generation capacity. Renewable energy companies are among the bidders to have expressed interest in providing electricity.
Global warming will hit solar panel performance
MIT researchers say climate change could reduce the yield of solar modules. Analysis based on the warming scenarios outlined by the IPCC predicts in some areas the annual energy output of PV systems may fall by up to 50 kWh per kilowatt installed.
