Author: solarenergy

Aplitop and Soltec have collaborated to develop a plug-in computer-aided design (CAD) application aimed at simplifying the planning process and reducing earthmoving work, surveying and the relocation of solar trackers in ground-mounted PV projects. September 19, 2024 Pilar Sanchez MolinaBy pv magazine SpainAplitop, a Spain-based civil engineering software developer, has collaborated with Soltec to launch TcpMDT Photovoltaic, an application designed to optimize topographic work on solar installation projects.Created as a CAD plug-in, the app aims to streamline planning, reduce earthmoving work and simplify measurements and the movement of solar trackers in PV installations.“Essentially, this tool seeks to simplify the tasks…

By coating the iron sulfide cathodes in polymers, a research team was able to create transition metal sulfide-based lithium batteries with stable cycling and high safety. After 300 cycles, a lithium carbide-iron disulfide pocket cell maintained 72.0% capacity with no capacity degradation after 100 cycles. September 19, 2024 Lior Kahana LiC6||FeS2 folded (top image) and cut (bottom image)Image: Adapted from ACS Energy Letters 2024, DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.4c01907By ESS newsA group led by scientists from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China has created a lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery that reportedly offers exceptional stability and safety capabilities.One of the fabricated battery…

IHI Power Services Corp. (IPSC), a provider of asset management, O&M, remote operations and compliance services, has been selected by Doral Renewables to provide asset management services for three large utility-scale solar projects in Starke County, Indiana: Mammoth South Solar, Mammoth Central I Solar and Mammoth Central II Solar. This award follows Doral’s initial selection of IPSC to provide asset management services for the Great Bend Solar project and the Mammoth North Solar project, the first phase of the Mammoth Solar project. With all four components together, the Mammoth Solar Project is expected to generate 1.3 GW of energy. Full…

Gautam Solar says it will invest INR 10 billion ($119.6 million) in a 2 GW solar cell factory in India. September 19, 2024 Uma Gupta By pv magazine IndiaGautam Solar has announced plans to set up a 2 GW solar cell manufacturing plant with an estimated investment of $119.6 million. The manufacturer said it is aligning with the Indian government guidelines on inclusion of solar cells in the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM).The new solar cell facility will enable Gautam Solar to meet domestic content requirements, which are critical for government-backed grant projects that require locally produced components.Gautam…

The report suggests that including smaller batteries in the balance sheet could alleviate pressure on the local network. Image: Nottingham City Council. A new report from energy services provider Joulen, formerly the Electric Storage Company, suggests that 0.1% of UK businesses could supply the equivalent power of both Hinkley Point C and 130 grid-scale battery sites by installing battery energy storage. The report, A better battery strategyoutlines four steps the UK government could take to democratize the energy transition. It was modeled on 70 proprietary data sets and scenarios, taking into account optimization opportunities, existing and potential market mechanisms and…

Silicon-free tandem solar cells are a research topic for commercial, academic, and institutional laboratories in the United States. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have published a roadmap for tandem technology in the journal Joule including emerging all-organic, all-perovskite tandem combinations and cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper-indium-gallium diselenide (CIGS) devices.Multiple teams in the United States have announced laboratory-scale fully thin-film cells with conversion efficiencies greater than 27%. “Tandems made entirely of thin film are a logical place to go eventually,” says Andries Wantenaar, solar energy analyst at market intelligence company Rethink Research. “Universities…

In the quest for more sustainable and cost-effective home energy solutions, solar water heating systems have emerged as a powerful and efficient technology. By harnessing the sun’s abundant energy, these systems can significantly reduce both your carbon footprint and your energy bills. Understanding Solar Water Heating Solar water heating systems, also known as solar thermal systems, use the sun’s energy to heat water for domestic use. Unlike solar photovoltaic (PV) panels that convert sunlight into electricity, solar thermal systems directly use the sun’s heat to warm water. This process is highly efficient, often converting 60-70% of the sun’s energy into…

EDF Renewables, Kowepo and Masdar have secured financing to build a 1.5 GW solar power plant near Abu Dhabi, backed by a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Emirates Water and Electricity Co. September 19, 2024 Patrick Jowett EDF Renewables, Korea Western Power Co (Kowepo) and Masdar have unveiled plans to build a 1.5 GW solar power plant near Abu Dhabi.The project has received financing from six banks and financial institutions: BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC Middle East, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Export-Import Bank of Korea.A project company – jointly owned by EDF Renewables and…

JinkoSolar wants to expand its activities throughout Africa JinkoSolar, the largest global solar panel manufacturer by shipment volume, is making plans to expand its presence in Africa, focusing on both the solar and energy storage markets. Over the past three years, JinkoSolar has supplied 5.2 gigawatts of solar panels and 100 megawatt hours of energy storage systems to 45 African countries, accounting for 15 percent of the continent’s market share, said Qian Jing, vice president of JinkoSolar. “The company has expanded its local presence by establishing subsidiaries in key markets such as Egypt, Kenya, Namibia, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa,…

Researchers from TU Delft have modeled a variety of floating PV structures at sea to reveal the design parameters that influence sustainability and yield. September 19, 2024 Valerie ThompsonUsing a multiphysics framework that integrated mechanical and optoelectric properties of offshore floating PV systems, researchers from TU Delft in the Netherlands investigated structural loads experienced by a variety of floating PV structures and the associated electrical power losses .“Simulations like the one we ran shed light on which configurations perform best before being implemented in a pilot system,” corresponding author Alba Alcañiz Moya said. pv magazinenoting that the model allows for…