Europe

An Italian research team has developed a device that it says can easily be integrated into a PV cell, and can boost its efficiency by converting more light particles into a high energy state before they are absorbed by the cell. The scientists claim that their innovation could offer a green‐to‐blue photon upconversion yield as high as 15%.

Solar’s embrace of subsidy-free models could push it in greater numbers towards owners with the experience to navigate power price swings, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Spanish developer Enerside will start construction of a 322.06MW solar park in northeastern Brazil early next year, government officials said over the weekend.

The global solar market is growing rapidly but remains highly fragmented, Wood Mackenzie says.

Originally intended to commission 140 MW of storage, the tender drew three winning projects: a 50 MW system and two 30 MW facilities. Eirgrid has estimated the total value of the contracts at around €6 million per year.

The project is in Giuncaggio, in the northeastern part of the French island, and was built with Tesla Powerpack batteries, a Nidec power management system and a new power management device from the project’s developer Corsica Sole.

China has invested US$90 billion in the countries involved in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since 2013. The BRI involves developing infrastructure in 126 partner countries to boost trade within a region stretching from Indonesia to Western Europe via the Middle East and East Africa, inspired by the historical Silk Road.

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 governmental body responsible for keeping mine pollution out of waterways has announced completion of the first phase of a plan to use solar to keep down its electricity bills.

The project will be built near the Trillo substation, in the Castilla–La Mancha region and represents around 15% of the 1.3 GW solar project pipeline the company hopes to deploy in Iberia by the end of 2023.

Individuals can now bankroll the deployment of a large-scale floating solar plant in France, a project by Paris-headquartered Akuo Energy.

A controversial move by network operators has laid bare once more the Netherlands’ issues with grid overcrowding, with PV projects now set for connection delays in under-pressure areas.

According to figures from Italian renewables body ANIE Rinnovabili, 18,036 storage systems coupled to clean energy power generation have been installed in the country. Most of the batteries are in Lombardy, whose administration offers rebates.

Spanish clean energy players have come forward in recent days with projects set to bring a major solar boost to Europe’s current market-of-the-moment.

Northern Europe’s clean energy scene has witnessed a flurry of policy moves in the space of a week, with at least four countries making announcements on various auctions and subsidy schemes.