• August 09, 2022

Spanish firefighters successfully put out a fire at the Ekian Solar Park renovation center in Arava, Spain, on August 1. The fire did not cause significant damage to the facility. The cause of the fire is not yet known and an investigation is ongoing. The 24 MW Ekian Solar Park, located in the Arasur Industrial Park, was inaugurated in January 2020 by local utility company Ente Vasco de la Energia (EVE). The factory is located in a 55-hectare industrial area called La Lágrima. Work on the facility began in April 2019 and took eight months to complete. As the largest Basque solar power plant, it has 67,000 355 W solar panels.

• August 01, 2022

According to the latest data released by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), China deployed around 30.88 GW of new PV systems in the first half of 2022. As of the end of June, the cumulative power generation has reached 340GW. CPIA predicts that China may deploy 85-100GW of new PV installations this year. The association also revealed that in the first half of this year, exports of wafers, cells and modules totaled $25.9 billion, and panel exports totaled 78.6GW. Meanwhile, polysilicon production was 365,000 metric tons (+54%) and wafer production reached 152.8 GW (+45.5%). Solar cell and module shipments were 135.5 GW (+46.6%) and 123.6 GW (+54.1%), respectively. Wintop is a professional manufacturer of solar mount components.

• July 26, 2022

Valardell, a 2.2 MW solar park in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain. Spain's Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenges (Miteco) has launched an auction for 140 MW of distributed solar power capacity. Shortlisted projects have an installed capacity of up to 5 MW and must secure at least three local partners, all within 60km of the project site. The auction will take place on October 25. The procurement campaign is part of a 520 MW tender that will be open for other renewable energy as well as thermal power projects. The energy tender is part of the Renewable Energy Economics Programme (REER) introduced in 2020 and is based on the allocation of a fixed price for the resulting energy through auctions.

• July 21, 2022

German football club Freiburg has announced that German systems integrator Badenova has completed the construction of a 2.4 MW rooftop solar array on the roof of its Europark stadium. The solar facility is the second largest photovoltaic system for football fields in the world, after the 2.5 MW rooftop array deployed at the "Mane Garrincha" National Stadium in Brasilia, Brazil. The rooftop photovoltaic system in Freiburg is expected to be connected to the grid in September, when the Fraunhofer ISE and the testing and certification body VDE will certify it.

• July 19, 2022

The controversial Oberon solar project is the third solar installation approved under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Program. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finalized the construction of the Oberon Solar Project on approximately 2,700 acres of land managed by BLM near the Desert Center in Riverside County, California. This solar project is the third to be approved for full construction under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Program and is an example of how California's public lands can play an important role in meeting the Biden-Harris administration's goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035 . The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Program (DRECP), an interagency planning effort covering 22.5 million acres in seven California counties, has two primary goals. First, provide a streamlined process for developing utility-scale renewable energy generation and transmission in the Southern California desert in accordance with federal and state renewable energy goals and policies. Second, the long-term protection and management of special species and desert vegetation communities and other physical, cultural, scenic and social resources within the DRECP program area through durable regulatory mechanisms. Both the BLM and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) have legal responsibility to protect wildlife under the Federal Endangered Species Act and the California Endangered Species Act. BLM must ensure that the needs of wildlife, fish and plants are taken into account when authorizing land use. CDFW requires project developers to avoid, minimize and/or compensate for impacts on fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. Despite these safeguards, environmental groups have voiced their opposition to the Oberon solar project. Basin and Range Watch is one such group, with the following statement on its website: "Despite new mitigation measures negotiated by BLM between controversial environmental assessment and final decision under DRECP, project will kill large amounts of desert Ironwood trees—an endangered vegetation community in California.”

• July 13, 2022

China's Huawei has been named the world's largest inverter supplier for the seventh consecutive year, followed by Sungrow and Growatt, according to a Wood Mackenzie report. According to a new report by Wood Mackenzie, Huawei is the world's largest inverter supplier by shipments in 2021, followed by Sungrow. The two companies have held the top spot since 2016, with Huawei holding the top spot for seven consecutive years. In 2021, global PV inverter shipments will reach 225,3GWac, a 22% increase over 2021. The analyst firm noted: "Huawei's market share will remain stable at 23% in 2021, while Sungrow is not far behind, growing from about 19% in 2020 to about 21%. The third runner-up, Growatt, has a 7% market share, replacing SMA dropped to sixth place. The top three suppliers together control more than half of the global solar PV inverter market.” According to Wood Mackenzie, GoodWe has jumped four places in 2021 and is now No. 5, thanks to high shipments to the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China and South Korea. “Israel’s SolarEdge enters the top ten for the first time – it will be ninth in 2021, adding about 1,000 MW.” Last year, Asia Pacific was again the largest market, accounting for more than half of total shipments. The shares of Europe and the United States are 23% and 14%, respectively.

• July 06, 2022

Enerwhere has designed a mobile solar-plus-storage installation for off-grid locations such as oil and gas fields and construction sites. It can be adapted to different needs and is scalable for megawatt-scale projects. Dubai-based solar developer Enerwhere Sustainable Energy DMCC has designed a solar cell container solution for off-grid applications in remote locations or construction sites. The company says the mobile unit can be moved and redeployed every two weeks and can be set up in as little as two hours. A company spokesperson told pv magazine: “We custom designed the trailer and assembled the battery cart and foldable solar cells ourselves. This containerized solution is ideal for oil fields, races, emergency power in disaster areas, agriculture and Construction." The company uses batteries from Germany's Alpha ESS and 370 W solar modules from Chinese manufacturer GCL Integrated Technology Co., Ltd. The panel has a power conversion efficiency of 19.1% and a temperature coefficient of -0.33% per degree Celsius. They weigh 22.2kg and measure 1965mm x 992mm x 35mm. The company is currently testing the system in Oman with a PV capacity of 74 kW and an energy storage capacity of 50 kWh. According to EnerWhere, it can run for 8 to 10 hours on 100% renewable energy. "The hybrid system is currently operating at 50 per cent renewable energy penetration for 24 hours and is expected to increase over time," the spokesman said. The mobile unit also incorporates an energy management system, Enlite Microgrid Control. It relies on historical databases, operational data and machine learning to predict load profiles and optimize on-site generation assets. The spokesperson said: “We are a temporary electricity provider that sells energy on a kWh basis, but do not sell these units. There are no capital expenditure requirements for the client. The solution is also adaptable to different needs and scalable for megawatt-scale projects.” Enerwhere recently launched a business model suitable for construction site solar projects. This approach is based on short-term power purchase agreements that allow mobile PV installations to be moved from one construction site to another.

• June 29, 2022

[Shanghai, China] On June 28, Huawei Smart Photovoltaics was awarded the statement of opinion on product carbon footprint verification issued by BSI (British Standards Institution, hereinafter referred to as BSI). This is the world's first inverter product carbon footprint issued by BSI. Footprint Statement. As the source of international standards, BSI is a special advisor to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the institution that issued the world's first carbon footprint standard, PAS 2050, with leading authority. The award of this carbon footprint verification statement is an affirmation of Huawei's ability to evaluate the carbon footprint report of the product's full life cycle, and it is also the result of Huawei's efforts in three aspects: reducing carbon emissions, increasing the proportion of renewable energy, and promoting a circular economy. Huawei's "green, low-carbon, and sustainable" development concept runs through the entire life cycle of inverter products. It has been recognized by the authoritative organization BSI, and is of great significance to the establishment and development of the photovoltaic industry's carbon footprint management system. With the proposal of the "3060" dual-carbon goal, the photovoltaic industry, the main force of renewable energy, has ushered in explosive growth. Although photovoltaic power generation is recognized as an important way to reduce carbon emissions, it does not mean that photovoltaic solar products are all low-carbon. to zero carbon emissions. Therefore, the carbon footprint is crucial to the decarbonization of the energy system, and it is especially critical to understand and manage the carbon footprint and carbon emission impact of the manufacturing process of each component of the photovoltaic system. In Europe and other countries and regions, carbon footprint is a must for equipment bidding. Only advanced green manufacturing enterprises with authoritative carbon footprint certification can truly help customers develop low-carbon and high-quality photovoltaic projects. Looking forward to the future, Huawei will continue to strengthen low-carbon capacity building, use innovative technologies to develop more eco-friendly footprint products, accelerate carbon emission reductions for itself and its customers, and work together towards a greener and better future with sustainable development goals.

• June 21, 2022

Spain's Extremadura Regional High Court has ruled that Spain's largest operable PV plant - the 500 MW Nuñez de Balboa PV plant in Usagre, near Badajoz - occupies illegally expropriated land. The owner of the solar park - Spanish energy giant Iberdrola - must now dismantle 60% of the plant. The owner of the property is Natura Manager, who owns 525 hectares of the 854 hectares occupied by the entire solar park. The court said: "The ruling shows that the land cannot be expropriated because it has been leased for 25 years. The expropriation request does not justify deprivation of property rights. The court also added that the company always had the statutory right to build the power station without expropriation of the land. "Nevertheless, all of its actions depend on a willingness to initiate an expropriation procedure without justification," the court ruled, while also acknowledging the right to "restore the farm to a state without photovoltaic power plants (including all facilities)." Iberdrola will appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court. The dispute is said to involve only one of the three owners of the project site. The company said: “Approximately 50% of the land is owned by two tenants who made no claims throughout, and maintained and responded to the contracts signed by the three owners at the time. The expropriation process … followed legal procedures and respected everything. existing rights and guarantees.” Iberdrola said the plant was built under valid, legal title and should not be demolished. "The plant has obtained all energy production licenses and will continue to operate as normal," the company said.