Multinational utility Iberdrola has completed the giant 500MW Núñez de Balboa solar farm in Spain’s Extremadura region, claiming it to be Europe’s largest completed solar project.
In arid regions soiling can greatly impact the energy yield of PV systems and drive up their O&M costs. Benjamin Figgis, Amir Abdallah, Maulid Kivambe, Brahim Aissa, Kamran Ali, Cédric Broussillou and Veronica Bermudez of the Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute and Klemens Ilse of the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics review the main challenges associated with soiling of PV plants globally, and the most promising techniques for dust prevention and cleaning in dry climates, drawing on research results from six years of PV performance and soiling studies at the QEERI’s Outdoor Test Facility in Doha
ACWA Power has penned two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Ethiopia’s state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power for 250MWac of solar in the nation.
Solar developer Silicon Ranch and utility Walton EMC have extended their solar relationship with Facebook, committing to build a further two solar farms for the social media giant.
Cecilia Keating concludes PV Tech’s end-of-year review, with a look back at Q4 2019's highlights, where bifacial modules narrowly missed being added to President Trump's broader suite of solar tariffs, free-market solar swept Europe, the world's climate priorities were put under the microscope at COP25, and sub-Saharan Africa wrestled with major energy crises.
