PV plant

Brazilian consultancy Greener has conducted a survey of more than 500 solar companies in Brazil to assess the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The results show that demand has already started to slow down, and that PV system prices are on the rise.

SunPower CEO: “We remain on track to complete our planned company split into two independently focused pure-play solar companies by the end of the second quarter.”

Antonio Delgado Rigal, chief executive of energy forecasting service Aleasoft, has told pv magazine all unsubsidized solar project financing will be postponed until it is possible to make reliable price predictions again. Projects could change hands in the meantime though, thanks to deep-pocketed investment funds on the lookout for bargains.

Researchers in Italy extensively analyzed four different configurations of their proposed system to assess its potential, including under non-optimal, ‘off-design’ conditions and concluded that, for now, subsidies would still be required for the commercial production of synthetic natural gas.

The country’s power utility has completed the pre-selection process to seek developers for a 20 MW solar project in the Banjul region. The project will feature up to four PV plants and will be developed under the national Electricity Restoration and Modernization Project.

Analysts from German energy advisory Enervis have told pv magazine power purchase agreement-linked solar projects which are under development in Europe may be delayed by the Covid-19 outbreak and new unsubsidized projects appear unlikely any time soon, thanks to the current economics.

An international research team has defined the operational parameters needed to design and manufacture crystalline silicon PV modules for tropical climates. The group proposed a back-junction, back-contact cell tech with a selective laser soldering technique it claims offers the best potential to yield such robust panels.

The governments of both countries are answering solar industry requests by adjusting tender schemes and considering measures to avoid financial penalties and the loss of incentives due to missed deadlines.

A research team in the US has proposed a ‘dual-angle solar harvesting’ method it is claimed could help PV developers optimize energy yield and land use. It is claimed the method would be particularly suitable for projects in cloudier climates and at higher latitudes.

The results of New York Statevs most recent renewable energy request for proposals are in. Some 21 large scale clean energy projects with 1,278 MW of new capacity have been awarded, with 17 of the projects supplying 1,090 MW of solar.