Author: solarenergy

NASA’s Europa Clipper equipped with huge solar panels for the Jupiter mission NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, the largest ever built for planetary exploration, is equipped with an array of giant solar panels at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. These arrays, each measuring approximately 14.2 meters in length and 4.1 meters in height, are the largest NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission. Their size is crucial to harness the maximum amount of sunlight as the spacecraft explores Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which is five times further from the sun than Earth. Folded and secured for launch, when deployed…

From pv magazine 07-08Demand for lithium is increasing and pricing agency Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) expects a million-ton lithium materials market by 2024 and a compound annual growth rate of 15% through 2033.Analysts including BMI anticipate the onset of a lithium shortage around 2029, amid environmental and political concerns about the required expansion of lithium mining and processing and its concentration in a small number of countries.Lithium is largely produced via evaporation of brine in the open air – in the ‘lithium triangle’ of South America – or from hard rock mining, mainly in Australia. China, which processes that Australian…

Ingeteam announced that it has supplied central inverters for two Acciona Energy projects in Wharton and Fort Bend counties, just outside Houston, Texas. The first project, with a capacity of 317 MWACconsists of 48 transformer stations equipped with 185 central Ingeteam inverters. This is the first large-scale project that Ingeteam has installed and commissioned for Acciona Energy in the United States. The second project has a capacity of 458 MWAC and is equipped with 71 medium-voltage transformer stations of the Full Skid type, fully integrated with 131 INGECON SUN 3Power C-series central liquid cooling inverters. The contract between the two…

GCL Technology says its revenue reached CNY8.86 billion ($1.3 billion) in the first half of 2024, with a gross loss of CNY553 million, while Xinte Energy says it recorded CNY11.74 billion in revenue and a net loss of CNY 887.02 million for the first half of 2024. six months of the year. August 30, 2024 Vincent Shaw and Valerie Thompson GCL Technology Holdings said it generated CNY8.863 billion in revenue in the first half of 2024, with a gross loss of CNY553 million. The nominal capacity for granular silicon reached 420,000 tons per year, fully utilized. Granular silicon production increased…

New research from Switzerland shows that capex costs for PV projects in the Alps in Switzerland currently range between €2,231/kW and €4,182/KW for ground-mounted projects and up to €3,802/kW and €7,108/kW for wall-mounted and floating projects respectively. August 30, 2024 Emiliano BelliniScientists from Swiss research institute ETH Zurich have investigated the financial viability of PV projects in the Alps and found that the levelized energy cost (LCOE) ranges from €0.097 ($0.10)/kWh to 0.162/kWh.Their analysis was based on 6,561 scenarios with varying investment factors such as capital expenditure, irradiation levels, financing conditions, energy prices and details of the Swiss subsidy scheme.…

BloombergNEF says the global solar industry will install 592 MW of modules this year, a 33% increase from 2023. The consultancy also lowered its estimate for polysilicon production in 2024 as manufacturers temporarily scale back production . August 30, 2024 Patrick JowettAccording to a new report from BloombergNEF, the global solar industry is on track to install 592 GW of modules this year, an increase of 33% from 2023. In its ‘3Q 2024 Global PV Market Outlook’, the company states that ‘low prices for modules will boost demand in new markets this year but hurt manufacturers, who are competing fiercely…

Satellite data improves understanding of solar energy generation in Asia-Pacific Amid the ongoing energy crisis and the growing threat of climate change, the need to harness renewable energy sources has become increasingly urgent. Solar energy in particular is emerging as a leading candidate, with experts predicting that solar energy could become the primary energy source by the end of the century. However, solar energy generation is not without challenges. Like wind energy, solar radiation – the amount of sunlight available in a given region – can fluctuate significantly due to weather conditions, leading to variations in energy output. These variations…

A planning map of the Kintore project. Image: Scala Renewables Group. Despite public objections, planning permission has been granted for a battery energy storage system (BESS) near Kintore in Scotland. XRE Gamma and Scala Renewables Group were granted development consent for the 49.9 MW development, which will consist of 36 batteries, 18 battery integration units and associated works to connect these to a local substation. The proposals were met with significant opposition, with Aberdeenshire Council receiving 51 letters of objection from the local community. Many residents were concerned about the potential impact on wildlife and the ability of local emergency…

Uniper says it has launched its Hydrogen Pilot Cavern (HPC) Krummhörn plant in Germany with almost 500,000 cubic meters of green hydrogen storage, while Air Liquide has opened a 20 MW electrolysis plant in Oberhausen, Germany. August 30, 2024 Sergio MatalucciHygreen and Andalusian based Coxabengoa have signed a strategic agreement to collaborate on the advancement of hydrogen technology, market expansion for electrolyzer solutions in Europe and expansion of production capacity. “This agreement enables Hygreen Energy to rapidly grow its industrial capabilities within the European market while repositioning itself for the global market grow, while broadening its commercial reach and expanding…

Early this year, Thrive Renewables opened its largest battery energy storage system (BESS) to date, a 30MWh facility in Bristol. Image: Renewable energy sources thrive. Renewable energy investment company Thrive Renewables has entered into a joint venture with TopCashback which it says will help finance the next phase of the UK’s net zero transition. The partnership with TopCashback Sustainability, the impact investing wing of the UK cashback site, will unlock up to £80m of partnership capital, which will be deployed over four years to directly fund sustainable projects in the UK. Thrive partners with investors and developers to finance, build…