Asia

As Longi and other solar manufacturers kick off massive growth in hydrogen generation capacity, expect large price decreases resulting from steep learning curves, echoing the rapid advances experienced by the solar power industry since the 1970s.

Indian scientists have designed a new all-perovskite tandem solar cell configuration that can reportedly achieve higher efficiencies than similar devices built with the same materials. The top perovskite cell has a wide bandgap of 1.75 eV and the bottom perovskite cell has a bandgap of 1.25 eV.

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and United Renewable Energy (URE) have developed a solar panel that can be easily dismantled to simplify the recycling process. They claim 96% of the materials in the panel can be recovered, including all of the solar cells and front glass.

Australian independent power producer ReNu Energy has signed a deal with the developers of a proposed 3.5 GW solar-plus-storage facility in Indonesia to explore the potential large-scale production of green hydrogen for supply into Southeast Asia and beyond.

Sun Cable is seeking to develop the world’s biggest intercontinental solar and storage project, and has now inked a deal with the Indonesian government that could unlock more than $170 billion (USD 115 billion) in renewable energy generation and transmission operations in the archipelago.

Australia features prominently in the top 10 but the latest edition of Ernst & Young’s renewables attractiveness index rates India as the top market for solar investment while Spain, Germany and the United States are the top three markets for corporate power purchase agreements.

China manufacturer DAH Solar offers four versions of its new panels, with power outputs ranging from 540 W to 555 W and efficiency ratings from 20.89% to 21.48%. The modules are reportedly ideal for steel rooftops with small installation angles.

Panel shipments collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars are blocked from entering the United States market as they have failed scrutiny under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, said Reuters.

Chinese researchers have assessed the impact of residential rooftop PV arrays on energy use and surrounding air temperatures during extreme heatwaves. They found that panels with higher conversion efficiencies achieved the best results.

Corporations in the Asia-Pacific region are set to contract a record 7 GW of renewable capacity in 2022, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie. Solar accounts for 57% of the region’s contracted corporate renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) to date. India, Australia and Taiwan account for 89% of overall capacity in the region.