Author: solarenergy

While various institutions are calling for hydrogen production at sea or near the coast, the European Commission is preparing to move forward with its second hydrogen auction. October 1, 2024 Sergio MatalucciThe European Commission published the final terms (T&Cs) for its second auction for renewable hydrogen (IF24 Auction), through the Innovation Fund. The auction will open on December 3, 2024 and will award up to €1.2 billion in support to renewable hydrogen producers in the European Economic Area (EEA). The successful bidders under the IF24 auction will receive a fixed premium in €/kg of renewable hydrogen produced over a period…

Smart Solar Billing will launch in Illinois on January 1, 2025, and solar industry partners have a new web page so that consumers and companies can learn everything about the new invoicing system. Solar customers and businesses can visit the Solar Powers Illinois website to learn more about the net metering changes and the new Smart Solar Billing system that will change the way residential solar and storage owners are billed reimbursed for the energy they sell back to their utilities. Current residential solar and storage customers will be considered “legacy” customers and will continue to receive the same net…

A fire breaks out at the Chinese battery giant’s CATL factory A fire broke out on Sunday at a factory owned by Chinese battery giant CATL, which supplies electric vehicle makers including Tesla, but only a “relatively minor” impact on operations is expected, the company said. A CATL spokesperson said there were no injuries or casualties at the plant in the coastal city of Ningde, and that “the reasons behind this accident are still under investigation.” Emergency services were sent to the factory to fight the fire and organize the evacuation of all people on the 15,000-square-meter site, said a…

EnPV GmbH, a subsidiary of German energy supplier EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, has unveiled a solar cell based on n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPcon) technology and a new type of back-contact architecture, which is described as self-aligned back contact (SABC) technology.“Common interdigitated back-contact (IBC) solar cells require an interdigitated pattern that is not homogeneous in nature and must protect parts of the back surface of the wafer during some steps in production,” EnPV CEO Massimo Centazzo told us. pv magazine. “Our SABC cell production avoids masking to structure the back surface and, while we use laser structuring instead, it…

The fund had mixed results, but expressed optimism for the year ahead. Image: Gresham House Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) investment fund Gresham House Energy Storage Fund has announced its half-year results to the end of June 2024. Operating capacity in MWh increased 46% year on year, reaching 931 MWh during the results period and exceeding the 1 GWh milestone shortly after the end of the period. In MW, operational capacity increased to 790 MW, an increase of 34% compared to the 590 MW of June 2023. However, despite this capacity growth, operating portfolio revenues fell 12.8% year-on-year, from £20.5m…

A research group from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee has fabricated 4-terminal silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells with an energy conversion efficiency of 28%. The team is now scaling up this technology to match the dimensions of commercial M10 solar cells of 18.2 cm x 18.2 cm. October 1, 2024 Uma GuptaBy pv magazine IndiaCrystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells have maintained their dominance among global PV products for 40 years and have secured over 95% of the market share. As the efficiency of Si solar cells approaches the conventional thermodynamic detailed balance limit of 33.5%, achieving further improvements becomes increasingly…

The German PV system provider said its new solar carport is an ideal solution for shopping centers, supermarkets or DIY stores. It is designed to work with standard or semi-transparent bifacial double-glazed PV panels. October 1, 2024 Emiliano BelliniGermany-based Gridparity AG has launched a new solar carport described as an ideal solution for high-use parking garages.“A new feature of this concept is the alternative support combination with curved supports, which distinguishes the system from other PV carports,” says a company spokesperson. pv magazine. “This design has been developed to meet the demands of many parking operators who want a cost-efficient…

New research from South Korea has shown that even a 10 μg/m3 increase in particulate matter in the atmosphere can significantly reduce solar energy generation and impact the revenues of PV system owners. October 1, 2024 Emiliano BelliniA research team from George Mason University Korea investigated the effect of air pollution on solar power generation in South Korea and found that even a small amount of airborne particles can result in significant economic losses for PV system operators.“This study shows that air pollution significantly hinders solar energy production in South Korea,” said the study’s lead author, Moon Joon Kim. pv…

Pending approval, a total of €167.6 million ($187.1 million) has been allocated to 46 standalone thermal and electrical energy storage projects, with costs ranging from €170/kWh to €409/kWh. October 1, 2024 Emiliano Bellini Image: NuKi Chikhladze, UnsplashBy ESS newsThe Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has published the provisional resolution of its first tender for innovative storage projects.Of a total budget of €180 million, €167.6 million in capex subsidies has been allocated to 46 projects, with a cumulative capacity of 811.16 MW and storage capacity of 3,590.21 MWh.The total investment is estimated at €786 million, with…

Solar mounting solutions provider Clenergy has deployed two of its fixed tilt ground-mounted products as part of a 32kW PV system powering a mobile communications antenna on a remote mountaintop in Tasmania. September 30, 2024 David CarollBy pv magazine AustraliaCommunications infrastructure owner BAI Communications has completed an upgrade to the off-grid energy system that powers the communications antenna mounted near the 1,146-metre Mount Owen near Queenstown on Tasmania’s west coast.BAI said the project included the renewal of an existing solar energy system and its integration and a new PV array and 120 kWh battery energy storage system with its own…