South Korea to introduce new rules for PV recycling
The South Korean authorities plan to introduce new rules for PV waste recycling in 2023. Several recycling facilities are already being built, including one by the government, with a combined capacity of 9,700 tons.
Bifacial perovskite solar cells may become more eco friendly than crystalline ones
A US study has suggested the raised energy yield of bifacial perovskite devices effectively means they could have a lower environmental impact than conventional crystalline cells. The researchers considered single-junction cells with high and low bandgaps and similar, multi-junction devices with two and four-terminal structures.
Additive allows all-perovskite tandems to hit 24.2% efficiency
Scientists led by China’s Nanjing University discovered that a chemical commonly used for bleaching in the textile industry can also serve as a performance-boosting additive to mixed lead/tin perovskite thin films. Using this additive, they were ultimately able to fabricate a two perovskite tandem cell measuring 1.05cm² that achieved 24.2% efficiency.
Agrivoltaic project with vertically mounted bifacial panels goes online in Germany
German developer Next2Sun has completed a 4.1 MW solar plant built with roughly 11,000 bifacial panels provided by Chinese manufacturer Jolywood.
‘There has never been a better time for hybrid microgrids’
In a move that’s sure to pan out well for the Granny Smith gold mine in Western Australia, Aggreko has installed one of the country’s largest renewable energy microgrids, with 7.7 MWp of solar to be integrated with the site’s existing power station. pv magazine recently sat down with Karim Wazni, Aggreko’s managing director of microgrids and storage solutions, to discuss how microgrids and energy storage can help transition Australia’s resource sector.
Austrian agrivoltaic project includes sheep farming
Maxsolar is building a ground-mounted, 11.5 MW solar plant near Wien where 150 Jura will graze.
Improving outdoor I-V curve measurements with PV module irradiance sensors
Japanese scientists have replaced common pyranometers with PV module irradiance sensors to measure the I-V curves of crystalline silicon PV modules. The sensors provide highly precise outdoor measurements, the researchers said.
Soltec plans IPO
The Spanish solar tracker maker is hoping to debut on the stock markets of Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia this year.
kWh Analytics unveils tool to address optimistic pricing, underperformance in PV projects
Jigar Shah, the president of Generate Capital, says that accuracy will come with the use of “objective market data.”
Australian startup to replace silver with copper in solar cell manufacturing
Startup SunDrive has secured US$2.2 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to help scale its low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell manufacturing process.
