Asia

Cesium lead black perovskites could be interesting for solar cell development if their crystals are observed in their less efficient but more stable beta phase. The efficiency shortfall can be solved by healing emerging cracks in the surface of the cell using a choline iodide solution, according to an international team of scientists.

The holders of almost six million shares in the company voted against the reappointment of chairman and CEO Liu Hongwei as a non-executive director. On Liu’s watch the company has had to turn to a state bail-out from China to help ensure its survival.

The Norwegian polysilicon and silane gas producer has announced it will listen to offers for its production facility in Butte Montana after mothballing its other manufacturing operation – at Moses Lake, Washington – in the summer.

Turkey introduced net metering in May, stoking hopes the scheme could add meaningful volumes of new solar generation capacity. Municipal governments elected in the spring can also boost the program’s success, provided the many layers of authority can work together, that is.

With the Chinese manufacturer claiming it has already hit 16% conversion efficiency on a large panel, a recent perovskite conference heard predictions the technology will make up the next generation of PV cells – provided it avoids the pitfalls experienced by thin-film devices.

Taiwan is expected to become one of the fastest-growing solar markets worldwide despite this year’s feed-in tariff (FiT) reductions, according to a new report, but a local developer has challenged the document's conclusions about the impacts of global PV module supply.

Philippines utility Meralco has sunk PHP424 million (US$8.2 million) of equity funding into its renewables subsidiary, MGreen, to support 210MW of solar projects.

The German project developer beat rival Scatec Solar to land the contract for a facility which will sell solar electricity to the Bangladeshi government for $0.1094/kWh for 20 years.

Deutsche Bank’s attempt to shut down the Chinese solar developer and BIPV maker, due to be heard this morning, has been adjourned for two weeks.

The ever worsening balance sheet of the Hong Kong-based solar manufacturer has triggered the removal of shares listed in Taiwan, which is likely to leave the company with a $2.84 million bill for buying them back.

An accelerated transition to renewables could go either way, regarding the United States’ unique geopolitical strength. According to Indra Overland – head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs – the U.S. could surrender a major advantage if it abandons fossil fuel. The nation could, however, remain dominant in the global energy sector if it continues to lead on innovation and clean energy tech-related intellectual property.

Argentina has staked a claim to Latin American solar records after wrapping up the extension of a complex that could reach gigawatt-scale proportions within 10 years.

Vietnamese firm Da Nhim–Ham Thuan–Da Mi (DHD), a subsidiary of national utility EVN, has bagged a US$37 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a 47.5MW floating solar project that is claimed to be the first and largest such project in the Southeast Asian nation.

Vietnam plans to reduce feed-in tariff (FiT) rates for ground-mount and floating PV after solar capacity deployment exceeded expectations under the original subsidy by a factor of five.

Chinese companies have built a 300-megawatt solar farm in the highlands of northern Argentina, the largest of its kind in the South American nation, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.