Solar Daily 06 11 2018

November 06, 2018

Photon Energy breaks ground on 5 Mwp solar projects in Hungary  Amsterdam, The Netherlands (SPX) Nov 06, 2018 - Photon Energy announces that its subsidiary Photon Energy Solutions HU Kft started construction as EPC contractor on eight photovoltaic power plants with a total capacity of 5.5 MWp in Almasfuzito, Hungary. The eight solar facilities of 498 kW each will be installed in the vicinity of the Hungarian village Almasfuzito located some 75 km northwest of Budapest near the Slovak border. C ... more

New efficiency record set for perovskite LEDs  Cambridge UK (SPX) Nov 06, 2018 - Researchers have set a new efficiency record for LEDs based on perovskite semiconductors, rivalling that of the best organic LEDs (OLEDs). Compared to OLEDs, which are widely used in high-end consumer electronics, the perovskite-based LEDs, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, can be made at much lower costs, and can be tuned to emit light across the visible and near-infrared ... more

Puerto Rico works to tap renewable energy as part of better storm prep  Washington (UPI) Nov 5, 2018 - The Puerto Rican Energy Electric Authority is working to use more renewable energy, partially as a way to harden its power generation and distribution system against future hurricanes. "In terms of generation, something very important that will happen is that we will add capacity to the network with batteries and with rapid response units that it will allow renewable energy," Jose Ortiz ... more

E-magy Silicon enhances Lithium Ion Batteries, targeting for 50% additional capacity  Broek op Langedijk, Netherlands (SPX) Nov 05, 2018 - RGS has announced the launch of its E-magy nano-porous silicon to improve lithium-ion batteries, mostly for the electric vehicle market. This special silicon is used in the anode of Li-ion batteries to enhance their capacity. E-magy can increase the capacity of Li-ion battery anodes to meet industry targets by up to fifty percent (50%) additional capacity. This translates into electric veh ... more

Shortening the rare-earth supply chain via recycling  Kanazawa, Japan (SPX) Nov 05, 2018 - Modern life is closely intertwined with a set of 17 elements at the foot of the periodic table. Known as rare earths (REs), many of these metals are highly magnetic, and find use in computing, green power and other technologies. However, because of rising prices, legal issues and the difficulty of mining, safeguarding their supply is a major scientific and political challenge. Several REs, ... more

Solar smashes several records in September  Sydney, Australia (SPX) Nov 05, 2018 - Australia's solar industry smashed multiple records in September, crossing 10 gigawatts of installed solar, the most solar registered in a month, and registering two of the country's largest solar farms, new analysis from the Australian Photovoltaic Institute (APVI) shows. Analysing data from the Clean Energy Regulator, APVI found that Australia now has 10.1GW of installed solar, which is ... more

Trina Solar provides 190MW of its TrinaPro PV solution to large solar park in Spain  Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Nov 05, 2018 - Trina Solar will provide 190 megawatts of its integrated photovoltaic (PV) solution, TrinaPro, to Cobra for a large solar park in Spain. ACS Group and its subsidiary Cobra, specialized in turnkey energetic infrastructures, are building this EPC project in Alcazar, Ciudad Real province (Spain), with a total power capacity of 190MW. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019, ... more

Dutch FMO Bank calls for fair pricing of solar energy projects  Singapore (SPX) Nov 05, 2018 - The sharp decline in solar energy prices, that has broadly been welcomed as helping to bring affordable and sustainable power to local communities in emerging and frontier markets, may also have under-appreciated high social and environmental costs, Dutch Development Bank FMO warned on Thursday. Geert Fijnaut, manager Energy Asia and Eastern Europe at FMO, said: "At a tariff of around USD ... more

Spain-based Repsol uses crude prices windfall to expand renewables, slash debt  Washington (UPI) Oct 31, 2018 - Spain-based Repsol said Wednesday in its January-September report that it increased its worldwide production of oil and gas by 4 percent, using the windfall from higher crude oil prices to expand renewables and slash debt. The increase in production from the same period in 2017 resulted in average output of 713,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. "This growth was supported by the sta ... more  Modelling a future fuelled by sustainable energy  Adelaide, Australia (SPX) Oct 31, 2018 - University of Adelaide economists have modelled the transition from a world powered by fossil fuels to one in which sustainable sources supply all our energy needs. Dr Raul Barreto, Senior Lecturer from the University's School of Economics, has examined the short and long-term consequences of the relative productivity differential between fossil fuel and renewable energy. "The transi ... more  Photosynthesis like a moss  Berkeley CA (SPX) Oct 31, 2018 - Moss evolved after algae but before vascular land plants, such as ferns and trees, making them an interesting target for scientists studying photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight to fuel. Now researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have made a discovery that could shed light on how plants evolved to move from the ocean ... more  Trina Solar supplies 17MW to the largest floating PV system in Europe  Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Oct 31, 2018 - Trina Solar Limited has supplied 17 megawatts of PV modules to the largest floating PV plant in Europe. The "O'MEGA 1" PV project has been developed by Akuo Energy, France's leading independent producer of renewable energy, under the specific constraints of the French CRE4.1 tender, won with Trina Solar low carbon footprint modules. Once operational, the plant located in Piolenc (Vaucluse) ... more  Solar Electric "StratoAirNet" Prototype Completes Additional Flights  Denver CO (SPX) Oct 30, 2018 - Several additional test flights of the "StratoAirNet" solar electric technology demonstrator prototype for Bye Aerospace's family of medium-altitude aircraft systems took place Oct. 15-17 at Northern Colorado Regional Airport. The prototype made six short flights, with further data collected on take-off and landing performance, climb rate, aero-efficiency and motor and battery operations. ... more  A solar cell that does double duty for renewable energy  Berkeley CA (SPX) Oct 30, 2018 - In the quest for abundant, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, scientists have sought to harvest the sun's energy through "water splitting," an artificial photosynthesis technique that uses sunlight to generate hydrogen fuel from water. But water-splitting devices have yet to live up to their potential because there still isn't a design for materials with the right mix of optical, electronic ... more  Ben-Gurion University researchers achieve breakthrough in process to produce hydrogen fuel  New York NY (SPX) Oct 30, 2018 - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology researchers have cracked the chemical mechanism that will enable development of a new and more efficient photo-chemical process to produce hydrogen fuel from water, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications. The team is the first to successfully reveal the fundamental chemical reactio ... more  Manganese may finally solve hydrogen fuel cells' catalyst problem  Buffalo NY (SPX) Oct 30, 2018 - Manganese is known for making stainless steel and aluminum soda cans. Now, researchers say the metal could advance one of the most promising sources of renewable energy: hydrogen fuel cells. In a study published in the journal Nature Catalysis, a University at Buffalo-led research team reports on catalysts made from the widely available and inexpensive metal. The advancement could ev ... more  Low cost, energy-saving radiative cooling system ready for real-world applications  Boulder CO (SPX) Oct 29, 2018 - University of Colorado Boulder and University of Wyoming engineers have successfully scaled up an innovative water-cooling system capable of providing continuous day-and-night radiative cooling for structures. The advance could increase the efficiency of power generation plants in summer and lead to more efficient, environmentally-friendly temperature control for homes, businesses, utilities and ... more  Highly efficient wet-processed solar cells with molecules in the same orientation  Kanazawa, Japan (SPX) Oct 29, 2018 - Solar cells are a cost-effective, alternate source of energy. A subtype of these, organic solar cells make use of organic polymers inside the cell. Using these polymers makes the cells light-weight and increases their flexibility. Organic solar cells are produced by two different chemical methods: dry processing and wet processing, with the latter being a faster method. There are several p ... more