Taiwan maintains FIT rates for rooftop PV
The Taiwanese authorities have decided not to reduce feed-in tariffs for PV, as initially planned, in order to support more solar deployment. The country added around 1.9 GW of new solar capacity last year....
Mitsubishi Electric unveils power-switching transistor for solar
Mitsubishi Electric's new 2.0kV LV100 semiconductor device is based on its insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) technology and Relaxed Field of Cathode (RFC) diodes. It is designed for industrial applications that need...
Storing solar power via borehole thermal energy storage
A Chinese-Finnish research group has proposed the use of seasonal, soil-based thermal energy storage in combination with photovoltaics in residential districts. They have found that the hybrid concept could cover up to 58% of total...
Lebanese bank introduces solar loan scheme for households
Lebanon’s Banque De L’Habitat is rolling out a new scheme to provide loans to help Lebanese households buy and install PV systems. It is running the scheme with the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC), which is providing...
Tesla big battery operator fined for breaching Australian power rules
The operator of the 150 MW/193 MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia has been fined AUD 900,000 ($620,470) for failing to provide essential services to maintain the stability of the grid....
California ruling simplifies grid-connection process for distributed solar, storage
The California Public Utilities Commission has introduced a new rule to streamline the interconnection process for distributed energy resources....
Perovskite-CIS tandem solar cell with 24.9% efficiency
German researchers have developed a new PV cell with a certified efficiency of 23.5%, an open-circuit voltage of 1.59 V, a short-circuit current of 19.4 mA cm–2, and a fill factor of 75.5%. It reached maximum efficiency of up to 24.9%,...
Mobile solar-plus-storage unit for offgrid applications
Enerwhere has designed a solar-plus-storage mobile unit for offgrid locations such as oil and gas fields and construction sites. It can be adapted to different needs and is scalable up to megawatt-scale projects....
Chinese fishery hosts 70 MW solar plant with high-power modules
Concord New Energy has connected a new 70 MW solar plant to the grid in China. The project, which is situated on a pond, also supports fish and shrimp aquaculture. Trina Solar supplied 670 W solar panels for the installation....