The NEM 3.0 program will run until the end of 2023 and will see the participation of residential, commercial and industrial prosumers as well as public entities and government ministries.

Six new arrays with a combined capacity of 120 kW will be installed on the International Space Station starting from this year. The panels will be brought to the station with the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft during three resupply missions. The installation of each solar array will require two spacewalks.

A new report from the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) shows that PV has not been growing significantly in Indonesia in recent years, despite the size of the energy market and economy. According to its authors, however, there are multiple paths that can be followed to bring volumes into all market segments. Large scale solar is expected to play a major role in the years to come, as the LCOE for big floating projects is approaching levels close to those of more mature markets.

The Italian inverter maker said the two devices were designed to deal with increasing PV module currents. The inverters have a power output ranging from 10 to 33 kW and are claimed to reach an input voltage of 1100 V (DC).

Australian researchers have analysed different ways to improve the efficiency of PV-powered water electrolysis for hydrogen generation. They include the use of magnetic fields, light energy, ultrasonic fields, and pulsating electric fields. Energy costs remain prohibitive, but molecular movement and the redistribution of molecules in water during electrolysis could open a path to viability.

The Indonesian government has announced the construction of a big PV plant in the eastern part of the country, explaining that the region is particularly suitable for solar development due to its dry climate and high solar radiation levels. The region is indeed the most suitable area for solar parks, due to land availability and high electricity generation costs.

Dutch company Rads Global Business has developed an anti-soiling coating for solar PV modules that is claimed to reduce cleaning cost by around 60%. The anti-reflective and anti-corrosive coating is also said to mitigate potential-induced degradation (PID).

The use of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells as backup power generation in solar microgrids could drive down costs and improve efficiency, according to an international group of researchers. They have proposed a new energy management system that could be ideal for hybrid solar-hydrogen microgrids in remote locations.

In an interview with pv magazine, Indra Overland, head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, explains how international hydrogen strategies may play out in the upcoming decades. Plans and roadmaps will not be enough to turn a hydrogen economy into reality and its success will depend on becoming cost-competitive vis-à-vis other solutions in several areas, he says.

Australian scientists have demonstrated two loss-mitigation techniques that could improve solar‐to‐hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiencies and may lay the ground for cheaper PV-powered hydrogen generation. By combining the two techniques, they were able to achieve an STH efficiency of around 19.4% at realistic operating temperatures.