World

Sonelgaz, Algeria’s state-owned utility, is seeking proposals to build 15 solar plants in 11 locations. The projects will range in size from 80 MW to 220 MW.

Aerocompact, an Austrian manufacturer, has unveiled a ‘universal’ mounting system for pitched roofs that reduces assembly times by up to 40%. It features colored cover plates in red, brown, or anthracite.

The hail storms that occurred recently in northern Italy damaged several photovoltaic systems. pv magazine Italy retrieved a report from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 2019 which tried to shed light on the damage caused to solar installations by hail by analyzing the effects of a severe hailstorm that occurred in the Netherlands in 2016. According to their assessments, damages to PV modules are mostly derived from hailstones of at least 3 cm in diameter.

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.

The German authorities have announced plans to double domestic electrolysis capacity to 10 GW by 2030, BloombergNEF has reported that green hydrogen became competitive with gray hydrogen earlier than expected, and Chinese researchers have presented new research on microbial hydrogen production.

GCL-Si says it has commissioned a new 20 GW solar cell factory that will supply n-type TOPCon cells to its module facilities in Hefei, Anhui province, and Funing, Jiangsu province.

Malaysia has increased the green energy tariff for residential and industrial consumers through the Green Electricity Tariff (GET) program. The government is offering 4,500 GWh of power to residential and industrial customers each year. These customers will be charged an additional MYR 0.281 ($0.062) for each kilowatt-hour of renewable energy that is purchased.

Scientists in Ireland investigated the effect of shunt resistance on a PV cell’s electrical performance. The group says its finding could potentially lead to the development of models for early detection of various forms of cell degradation, allowing for intervention to repair or replace components before major power losses occur.

A study by TÜV Nord in Malaysia shows that the latest generation of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules surpass their older rivals on energy yield. The researchers compared n-type TOPCon modules with older p-type PERC modules, both manufactured by JinkoSolar over a three-month period earlier this year. The newer product showed an energy yield 5.69% higher than its PERC counterpart.

Vaulta, an Australian battery tech company, has developed its first dedicated residential battery. The small-scale energy storage system can purportedly operate for 4,000 cycles, with an 80% depth of discharge.