Highlights

A study by engineers at UNSW, published in the Renewable Energy journal, shows that aerosols and greenhouse gas emissions reduce the productivity of photovoltaic installations and that this differs according to the global region.

Solar Energy Corp. of India Ltd (SECI) is accepting bids to supply 400 MW of domestically manufactured solar modules built with made-in-India cells. The modules must be rated a minimum of 540 Wp each. Bidding ends on Dec. 23.

Delhi-based Bluebird Solar, which currently has a 400 MW per year panel manufacturing facility, will ramp up capacity to 1.2 GW by March 2024 and further to 2 GW by March 2025.  

Madrileña Red de Gas is testing a heating system prototype developed by Germany company Vaillant that uses exclusively green hydrogen. The 25 kW system is equivalent in shape and size to a current natural gas heating system.

The application of busbarless cell interconnection approaches could unlock the potential of heterojunction (HJT) technology, primarily by reducing the historically high silver usage of negatively-doped, “n-type” cell technology. As HJT manufacturing increases, a wave of applications may very well be on the horizon.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

BloombergNEF says it has recorded a 14% decline in battery prices this year, mainly due to cheaper raw materials, following an unprecedented rise in 2022.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $250 million policy-based loan to strengthen the market for power trade and related ancillary services in India, facilitating the integration of intermittent renewable energy. The loan will also enable measures to improve the financial performance, corporate governance, and service quality of electricity distribution companies (DISCOM) and create a conducive environment for private sector investment.

Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) is inviting bids from developers to supply 1.5 GW of firm, dispatchable power from renewable energy projects with storage systems. The successful bidders will set up RE projects with storage on a build-own-operate basis to supply RE power in a demand-following manner.  Bids can be submitted till Jan. 9, 2024.

Imec has successfully integrated silicon heterojunction PV cells into curved surfaces, resulting in a 6% efficiency increase compared to passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) half cells. The cells are suitable for applications in vehicle-integrated and building-integrated PV (BIPV).