Spain

Spanish researchers found that combining agrivoltaics with regulated deficit irrigation can cut tomato irrigation water use by about 50%, while improving land-use efficiency through simultaneous crop and solar energy production.

Researchers have identified a new source of underperformance in utility-scale PV plants caused by “suboptimal backtracking” on slightly uneven terrain. The study shows that real tracker control systems deviate from ideal flat-terrain assumptions, reducing irradiance capture and causing measurable energy losses compared with simulations.

Tests conducted by a research team in outdoor environments in Spain and Poland have demonstrated a strong correlation between perovskite solar cell degradation and the combined effects of climatic and operating conditions. The scientists found that open-circuit operation accelerates degradation, whereas operation at the maximum power point and under short-circuit conditions has a lower impact.

Researchers have developed a stagnant water layer cooling concept and tested it using seawater, tap water, and desalinated water. The panel temperature decreased by up to 8.2 °C, while power output increased by approximately 28%.

Researchers have developed a novel defluorination method to dispose of PTFE, used in solar componentry and electric cable coating, that converts its constituent fluorine compounds and could enable eco-friendly polymer recycling.

Developed by a professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the Soley software is claimed to enable precise optoelectronic modeling of photovoltaic devices and accurately reproduce the behavior of photodiodes under illumination.

Spain-based manufacturer PV Hardware has released a terrain-conforming tracker support, enabling up to 2° of variation between posts and enables solar installations on difficult sites without increasing environmental impact or construction costs.

The New South Wales Treasury Corporation, the state’s sovereign investor, has entered into a partnership with United Kingdom-based developer Equitix to grow its renewable energy hybridisation platform in Spain.

Spain’s parliament has rejected a legislative package aimed at reinforcing the grid and scaling up battery energy storage following the 28 April 2025 blackout.

Spanish robotics manufacturer Smartbox has launched an autonomous solar panel-cleaning robot that comes with two plug-and-play batteries, each with 4.5 hours of battery life, and is capable of cleaning up to 4,000 panels in 10 hours.