Author: solarenergy

REC Silicon has announced it is ceasing production at its facility in Moses Lake, Washington. The company also closed its polysilicon manufacturing facility in Montana earlier this year. REC Silicon now has no polysilicon operations in the United States. The company said that while polysilicon production at Moses Lake will cease, the equipment involved in the production of silicon gases will be maintained in a “safe and recoverable mode that incurs minimal intermediate costs, allowing the unit to operate at a reasonable notice period can be restarted.” This would allow REC Silicon to benefit from future customer demand for silicon…

Researchers have proposed an atmospheric polygeneration system for hot, humid climates that generates water, cooling and hydrogen, while Inpex has started preparations for a blue hydrogen production project in Niigata, Japan. December 31, 2024 Sergio Matalucci An international research team has proposed an atmospheric polygeneration system for hot, humid climates that integrates solar photovoltaics, vapor compression cooling, electrode ionization, PEM water electrolysis, hydrogen storage, and fuel cells. they said in a recent one paper in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy that the system generates water, cooling and hydrogen and produces 5 kW of electricity, 8.2 tons of cooling, 28.36…

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is investing up to €105 million ($109.5 million) in a large-scale solar power plant in Novi Sad, Serbia. The project is expected to reduce the district heating company’s natural gas consumption by approximately 29%. December 31, 2024 Patrick Jowett Novi Sad, Serbia Image: Petar Ubiparip, Pixabay The EBRD provides a government loan of up to €105 million for a large-scale solar thermal power plant in Novi Sad, in the north of Serbia. The financing for Novi Sad’s district heating company, Novosadska Toplana Novi Sad, will support the construction of a factory with…

Norway’s Mer Group, in collaboration with local partners, has installed a trial charging station for electric vehicles with a wooden roof in Spittal an der Drau, Austria. December 31, 2024 Valerie Thompson MER Ladepark Spittal Austria Image: HASSLACHER Group Mer Group, a Norwegian charging solutions company owned by Statkraft, has installed a 36.27 kW wooden PV canopy at a pilot EV charging station in Spittal an der Drau, Austria. Austrian PV module manufacturer Sonnenkraft supplied the bifacial solar panels for the charging station, a company spokesperson said pv magazine. The site features 117 double-sided glass-glass modules, each with a power…

By Charles W. Thurston November 21, 2024 A growing number of the 350 victims of landslides left without electricity or natural gas in Southern California’s Rancho Palos Verdes after the July 2024 event are being rescued with backup solar + storage + generator systems researched by ABC Solar of Torrance, California. Within days of the landslide, Bradley Bartz, founder and CEO of ABC Solar, and his team of five installers have so far managed to deliver new energy systems to 29 area residents, who at one point were ordered to evacuate. “One day I did six systems,” Bartz said in…

AleaSoft Energy Forecasting says weekly average electricity prices exceeded €100 per MWh in most major European markets last week, largely driven by rising gas and CO2 prices. December 31, 2024 Patrick Jowett Image: AleaSoft Energy forecast According to AleaSoft Energy Forecasting, most major European electricity markets recorded price increases in the fourth week of December. It said average weekly prices rose in the Belgian, British, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish markets. In each of these markets, weekly averages exceeded €100/MWh, with the Italian market recording the highest at €121.55/MWh. The exception was the Scandinavian market, where the weekly…

A call for cooperation in meteorological research in the field of solar energy Solar energy has become a leading renewable energy source, known for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness in reducing dependence on fossil fuels. However, optimizing solar energy production poses challenges that extend beyond traditional engineering solutions, giving rise to the emergence of a specialized field known as solar energy meteorology. This interdisciplinary field focuses on evaluating the long-term availability of solar energy resources to build efficient solar farms, and addressing short-term energy fluctuations caused by weather variations. Solar energy forecasting, a critical component, helps energy providers effectively balance their…

By pv magazine 24/12-25/01 pv magazine: How did you start with Origami Solar? Greg Patterson: The only thing in a PV system that has not changed or seen any real innovation in the more than sixty years that solar energy has been around is the module frame. It is the only component in an entire PV project that has not seen radical improvements or innovation, and cost cutting has only led to significant performance losses. We saw a great opportunity here. For many reasons, which we have shown, steel is simply a better solution for module frames in general. But…

As of December 2022, there were 12 planned nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), with only two having gained a development consent order (DCO) from the energy secretary. That is a state of play hard to imagine now, particularly since Ed Miliband, in his role as secretary of state for energy security and net zero, consented another three major NSIPs within a few days being in power, and many more being planned. With a government more closely aligned with the needs of the solar industry and an objective of reaching 45GW-47GW solar generation capacity by 2030, large-scale solar development is pegged…

Scientists have developed a multiphysics thermal model for panels with a natural convective cooling loop and tested it against experimental data. They also experimented with varying the thickness of the cooling channel and different coolants. The highest measured electrical efficiency reached 15.45%. December 31, 2024 Lior Kahana An international research team, led by the University of Manchester, studied the thermal modeling of floating photovoltaic (FPV) panels with a natural convective cooling loop (NCCL). The researchers created a new 2D multi-physics numerical model to evaluate the system using varying coolant channel thicknesses and nanofluids. “The NCCL is a passive cooling system…