Highlights

The 14.7 MWp project, developed for Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC) Limited, uses an aggregate 37,632 number of 390Wp PV panels and spans an area of 15.6 hectares.

The Indian developer has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in SB Energy’s India renewable portfolio for approximately US$3.5 billion (INR 26,000 crore). The assets, totaling 4,954 MW, are spread across four Indian states.

According to the International Energy Agency, most of the global reductions in CO2 emissions between now and 2030 would come from technologies available today. In a recent report, the agency sets what it described as a “cost-effective and economically productive” pathway resulting in an energy economy “dominated by renewables like solar and wind.”

The vertically integrated factory, located in the Dholera Special Industrial Region, will produce 2 GW of mono PERC solar cells and modules annually. Production is expected to start from the next fiscal year. 

Developed by a French-Canadian research group, the triple-junction cell is based on indium gallium phosphide (InGaP), indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) and germanium (Ge) and has an active area of only 0.089 mm2. It can be used for applications in micro-concentrator photovoltaics (CPV).

British scientists have reported significant restoration of the panel performance with the experimental compressed air system developed by them for the simultaneous cleaning and cooling of PV modules. The system was built with a compressed-air unit which was made of a compressor, an air tank, and an airflow regulation valve, and a series of nozzles. The technique was tested on a PV system located in northwestern India.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) under the commerce ministry stated the Indian manufacturers provided sufficient evidence to warrant the initiation of an investigation into the alleged dumping of solar cells. The investigation will aim to determine the existence, degree and effect of the dumping and recommend an amount of anti-dumping duty to offset the material injury to domestic manufacturers.

US scientists have created a new design for lithium-metal, solid-state batteries that should avoid the formation of dendrites that grow into the electrolyte. Their multilayered battery could potentially recharge electric vehicles within 10 to 20 minutes.

The devil is in the details, as they say, and when it comes to the next generation of mass-produced, high-efficiency PV cells, silver costs may be devilishly hard to reduce. Making things worse, prices for the precious metal are now heading in the wrong direction.