New tool to simulate climate at utility-scale PV project sites
Scientists in China have designed a new methodology to simulate the near-surface climate of utility-scale PV plants. Their findings suggest that the new tool could be used to design more climate-friendly solar parks.
Global installed PV capacity could hit 260 GW in 2022
The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA PVPS) estimates that 173.5 GW of new solar capacity was installed in 2021, and that figure might rise to 260 GW in 2022. pv magazine spoke with the co-chair of the European Solar Manufacturing Council to look into the figures.
World has technical potential to host 47.6 PWh of photovoltaic-thermal panels
Scientists from the Central European University in Hungary have estimated the global technical potential of photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) energy production by using a high-resolution geospatial model.
PV production equipment sales soaring in Europe
According to VDMA, a German engineering association, there are now more orders coming in for German production equipment from Europe than from China. Nevertheless, shipments to Asia remain dominant.
Global polysilicon capacity could hit 536 GW by end of 2023
Clean Energy Associates said in a new report that it expects polysilicon production capacity to exceed PV installations next year.
Wind, solar payback times under a year in some parts of world, says Rystad
Record energy prices, particularly in Europe, are driving demand for renewables and energy storage. That is changing the equation for utility solar and wind investment and shortening project payback times to under a year in some regions. Storage deployment, driven by recent policy developments around the world, is also expected to get a big boost through to 2030.
JinkoSolar achieves 26.1% efficiency for n-type TOPCon solar cell
JinkoSolar has set another world record for n-type solar cell efficiencies with its TOPCon technology, this time reaching 26.1%. The new record was confirmed by China’s National Institute of Metrology.
Weekend read: Software to serve up more solar
Enabling future energy flows at the lower-voltage distribution level? Unlikely. Wide-scale hardware upgrades would cost billions if not trillions, especially in Australia’s far reaches. Software and digital solutions are identifying new cost-effective ways of letting more sun into the grid.
Off-grid solar continues to expand
The off-grid solar sector has shown resilience in the face of pandemic-related challenges, with 70 million people gaining access to electricity from early 2020 to the end of 2021. However, the ability to pay for solar energy kits has taken a hit.
Novel anode material paves way for 15-minute EV charging
US researchers have developed a novel fast-charging battery anode material, and GM has revealed a new focus on battery R&D. The European Parliament, meanwhile, has issued a number of proposals for alternative fuels infrastructure.
