Western Europe

Many factors are important in ballasting flat roof systems, such as wind speed and roof shape. In the past, however, wind force has unfortunately been underestimated, says wind expert Hans Ruscheweyh. pv magazine addressed this topic in a recent webinar with initiative partner Schletter, and drew several interesting points from the discussion.

The sodium-ion battery technology developer has bagged its first order from ICM Australia and is looking at India as the next destination for manufacturing with the initial target set as 1 GWh.

Although the Wiki-Solar website ranking only provides a snapshot of PV project engineering, procurement and construction contracts outside of China, it is nevertheless a useful indicator of the changing global solar market landscape. Of the top 11 companies, four are based in India, three in Germany, and two in the United States. But last year’s largest contractor, U.S.-based First Solar, might lose its leading position this year, as it has largely discontinued its EPC activities.

Scientists in Germany have developed a “heavy duty” test to provide insight into the long term effects of potential induced degradation in PV modules. The tests go well beyond those established by IEC standards and seek to guide manufacturers and investors on the best choice of materials – encapsulants in particular – when it comes to long term PID resistance.

France’s Sunbooster has developed a technology to cool down solar modules when their ambient temperature exceeds 25 degrees Celsius. The solution features a set of pipes that spread a thin film of water onto the glass surface of the panels in rooftop PV systems and ground-mounted plants. The cooling systems collect the water from rainwater tanks and then recycle, filter and store it again. The company claims the technology can facilitate an annual increase in power generation of between 8% and 12%.

India’s energy system immediately needs a shift from centralized commands to dynamic interactive structures. While the UK is already spearheading digitalization of its energy systems, India has ample areas demanding interventions, such as integration of decentralized energy systems using digital innovation and analytical tools.

The utility-scale PV project, which Belectric built for Fortum Solar India across five sites, is the largest amount of solar capacity that the German EPC services provider has commissioned in the country thus far.

The programme—co-funded by Swedish Energy Agency and India’s Department of Science & Technology (DST)—aims to develop technologies that can be commercialized after two years. While SEA has committed US$2.6 million over four years for research and innovation collaboration with India, DST will also fund a matching investment of Rs 18 crore to support Indian partners.

Scientists at Germany’s Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin have made a discovery they say could greatly increase the energy storage capacity of titanium-based ‘MXene’ pseudocapacitors, ultimately leading to faster-charging batteries. The group found adding urea molecules between MXene layers increased the material’s storage capacity by up to 56%.

Fimer’s takeover of the inverter business of the Swiss conglomerate will not affect job numbers at ABB’s Indian production facilities, according to the new owner of the combined business.