photovoltaics
The US Department of Energy (DOE) and Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy initiative, will collaborate to test the performance of specially coated solar photovoltaic modules designed to avoid the moisture and cementation problems currently faced by PV module producers worldwide and prevent dry dust adhesion. Developed by the US
photovoltaics
The use of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems has been around for a long time (16 years since the first commercial-scale system installed in the UK). However, innovation of new products within this market has been slow to gather pace. This is set to change as the effects of increasing revenues
photovoltaics
The thin-film photovoltaic (PV) industry needs to aim not only for grid parity — making solar energy comparable in cost to traditional energy sources — but for green parity, or long-term industry sustainability, as well, according to Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group. Linde Gases issued its call in advance
photovoltaics
Bruker BioSpin will provide the world’s first commercial millimetre-wave 263-gigahertz EPR spectrometer for use at Berlin’s Helmholtz-Zentrum. The facility conducts pioneering research into new EPR applications in solar energy and photovoltaics. Bruker BioSpin’s ELEXSYS™ E780 system incorporates a unique superconducting magnet that can be ramped up to
photovoltaics
Germany-based Schott Solar, a photovoltaics manufacturer, has entered into a three-year research partnership with IMEC, a European nanoelectronics research centre, to explore sustainable ways to meet the growing demand for silicon solar cells. IMEC’s newly launched silicon photovoltaics industrial affiliation programme (IIAP) aims to find a way to sharply
photovoltaics
Photovoltaics firm Signet Solar has inked what might be a first in the renewables industry (PDF): a 25-year insurance plan that covers the performance warranty of Signet’s solar modules. Implemented by insurance provider Munich Re, the plan is designed to protect against the risk of performance deterioration in Signet’
photovoltaics
Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group, has been awarded the exclusive contract to supply high-purity gases to Italy’s first thin-film solar module manufacturing plant. The Moncada Energy Group s.r.l. is building the plant in Campofranco (Sicily). Linde Gas Italia will provide Moncada with turnkey installation
photovoltaics
Siemens AG says its new transformerless solar inverters have achieved an effiency of 98 per cent — 2 per cent higher than other inverters. The three-phase photovoltaic (PV) inverters will help solar plant operator boost profits during infeed into a medium-voltage system, Siemens says. In addition, system costs can also be
photovoltaics
Germany’s SolarWorld AG held a topping-out ceremony this week for its new production facility for solar silicon wafers in Freiberg’s Industrial Estate East. The new plant is eventually expected to have a production capacity of half a gigawatt per year. With an investment volume of some €350 million,
photovoltaics
The Italian firm Enerqos, a photovoltaic (PV) system and solar power plant construction company has teamed with ESP, a specialist in the design of metallic structures for solar installations, to launch Flexa Solar Parking, an innovative, multifunctional solar canopy. The canopy combines a solar-energy producing array with simple weather protection
photovoltaics
A former Soviet Army training area in eastern Germany is on course to house what will be Germany’s largest photovoltaic (PV) power plant. It will also be the second-largest PV solar installation in the world. First Solar and Juwi Holding AG plan to develop the €160 million, 53-megawatt facility
photovoltaics
Expect the photovoltaics (PV) industry to see a major market drop this year, warns electronics market analyst iSuppli. The firm bases its forecast on the industry’s overcapacity, along with fast-dropping PV prices and anemic demand in the face of the struggling global economy. Another contributing factor is Spain’s