Asia

The Japanese electronics giant has unveiled three monocrystalline half-cut cell modules said to provide 2-3% better performance than standard, full cell panels. The claimed efficiency of the modules exceeds 19.5% and Sharp says power output ranges from 330-395 W.

Tata Power Solar has received a Letter Of Award (LOA) from NTPC for the development of a 250 MW solar project under the CPSU scheme.

BHEL has tendered for carrying out the O&M work on the firms’ 5 MW solar plant in Tamil Nadu.

Technique Solaire has successfully commissioned its second project in India. The solar plant, with a total output of 27 MWp is spread over 40 hectares.

Indian NTPC Limited has launched an action for 870-kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic station. The system will be installed at the company’s second stage of TG Hall in Vindhyachal.

Four bids have been lodged for 100 MW projects and fifth for a 90 MW facility, all in peninsular Malaysia, to indicate the 500 MW tender will fall short of its intended capacity. The lowest solar power price lodged is for $0.042/kWh.

Bidders can pitch for up to 300 MW of generation capacity per project with the deadline for proposals on February 4. The eighth tranche of inter-state transmission system program capacity offered by the Solar Energy Corporation of India comes with a solar energy price ceiling of Rs2.78/kWh.

With the third procurement round of the kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Program, the Renewable Energy Project Development Office is tendering four large-scale solar projects. Successful bidders will have to include at least 17% local content in their facilities.

Indian APDCL has floated a tender for 30 megawatts of solar capacity in three Assam’s districts. The tender is being held under the second phase of the CPSU scheme.

Scientists from American National Renewable Energy Lab have discovered a new technology to cut the costs of manufacturing of a very efficient (but at the same time extremely costly) GaAs solar cell.

Kyocera is introducing an innovative SemiSolid cell architecture created by US’s battery company 24M. The Japan-based giant will initiate the product’s entrance to the market. The new solution considerably improves batt performance, at the same time enabling significant production savings.

Lithuanian researchers claim to have dramatically improved the performance of a perovskite-based copper indium gallium selenide solar cell they developed with the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. The improved efficiency, they claim, was achieved thanks to one of the most recently developed monolayers used for experiments on the cell.

NTPC Limited has issued a tender for the installation of rooftop solar projects at two of its locations worth a combined generational capacity of 550 kW.

The UAE Federal Electricity and Water Authority is seeking expressions of interest to enable it to pre-select independent power producers for the project. The plant will be owned 60% by the government of Umm al-Quwain and the electricity authority, with the successful developer owning the balance.