World

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.

Biwatt Power, a Chinese manufacturer, has developed new residential sodium-ion batteries with an efficiency rate of 97% and a projected lifespan of more than 3,000 cycles.

A research team has developed OHP-based photoanodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, minimizing the usual limitations. Meanwhile, China released its first hydrogen guideline, and Germany announced €18.6 billion for the hydrogen industry. Finally, a German company finds out that hydrogen trains are more expensive than battery-operated vehicles.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has approved plans to build a 50 MW solar project in northwestern Bangladesh. The installation will sell power to the BPDB under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) at a rate of $0.098/kWh.

Grid-scale battery storage systems have surpassed the charging capacity of pumped hydro in Australia’s national grid, following the recent completion of two new battery projects, totaling 150 MW.

Brazilian consultancy Greener says that Brazil imported 7.8 GW of solar modules in the first half of this year, down 21% year on year. However, it says a reduction in distributors’ inventories and module prices could drive up cost competitiveness in the second half.

New research from India claims solar modules with 3.2 mm-thick front glass may not be strong enough to withstand storms producing big hailstones. The scientists found that a front glass of at least 4 mm should be used to avoid significant damage.

Airtouch Solar Group has launched a cleaning solution for utility-scale solar PV plants to provide autonomous, water-free panel surface cleaning. The 4-meter cleaning unit weighs less than 40 kg and is commonly utilized in arid and dusty locations.

New research from Turkey shows the need for a more rigorous approach to PV site selection due to increasing hydrological extremes. The scientists claim that fixed-distance buffer zones are not sufficient to protect solar farms from flood and erosion hazards.

Singapore-based developer Vena Energy says it will investigate opportunities to make solar panel components and battery energy storage systems in Indonesia, in order to support a hybrid megaproject with up to 2 GW of solar and more than 8 GWh of energy storage.