Technology

A research team has applied a waterproof coating obtained from graphite to a perovskite cell intended to power the production of hydrogen underwater. The cell is said to have worked underwater longer than expected.

And the analyst expects that annual new additions figure to rise to 10.6 GW in 2025. This year the U.S. will surpass South Korea as the largest storage market due to new capacity for solar-plus-storage projects. In Japan and Australia, growth will be spurred by the termination of FIT programs.

Waste-to-energy, battery lifecycle solutions and hazardous waste management will make up an increased share of Fortum’s business in future. While solar will continue to be a mainstay for the Finnish clean energy company in India, Fortum wants to deepen its presence in the electric vehicle space with smart solutions, according to Sanjay Aggarwal, the company’s India MD, and Juha Suomi, area director for Asia, who spoke exclusively to pv magazine.

The procurement – for PV capacity at the Dholera Solar Park – attracted bids for just 300 MW as developers shunned a tariff ceiling of Rs2.75/kWh.

Policy certainty and more financial subsidies would incentivise the market, as would support for domestic manufacturing and simplifying the net metering application process.

With concern rising about future solar waste in India, research by the University of New South Wales has examined the economic barriers, technologies and opportunities offered by recycling end-of-life silicon PV modules.

India’s leading solar region has been forced to apply the brakes to new solar with its power distribution companies having fulfilled their renewable purchase obligations for the next two years. Projects driven by federal agencies will continue, however.

As the nation aims for 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022 it is staring at up to 1.8 million tons of PV waste by 2050. A solar waste management seminar organized by consultancy Bridge To India in New Delhi brought stakeholders together to discuss how a PV waste management system could help.

KKR has also applied to become a co-sponsor of the power infrastructure investment trust and plans to acquire additional 15% stake in it. The deal marks KKR’s first infrastructure investment in Asia.

State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has invited bids for supply, installation and commissioning of grid-connected solar rooftop PV plants of cumulative capacity 170 KWp at four locations in Haryana. The projects would be awarded through bidding followed by reverse auction. The last date for bid submission is May 10.