The making of: Kabai Solar Park

The number of large scale solar parks is growing worldwide and we at IBC SOLAR are also contributing to this. From countries within Europe to Asia with projects in Japan and India. More and more countries want to increase their share of a green power supply with the help of photovoltaics. And each of these projects is unique in terms of the task at hand, always exciting in its implementation and peppered with some challenges. The most recent example is Hungary’s largest solar park in Kabai with around 43 MW. It emerged from the collaboration between IBC SOLAR Energy (the international project division of IBC SOLAR AG) and MET Asset Management AG during the course of 2020. A year full of surprises and challenges for the entire Energy team. (more…)

A forest, a PV system and clean drinking water

Often one hears and reads about the potential of photovoltaics and how it can be used everywhere. It is a fact that PV is not only one of the most popular and cheapest types of electricity generation, but also highly flexible and often the solution for difficult situations. The latter applied to the community of Urphertshofen in Middle Franconia, Germany. Here, a photovoltaic system is used for the treatment of drinking water – in the middle of the forest. (more…)

And the award goes to…

Every sector and industry relies on research and innovation to develop and succeed. This also applies to the PV sector, especially in times of energy transition, CO2 reduction and with plans for abandoning fossil fuels. For this reason, IBC SOLAR together with various other organisations, regularly supports students with their innovative ideas as a team partner in research and/or financially. This time, the team supported Bernd Doll, FAU PhD student from FAU in Erlangen-Nürnberg and presenter of the current iPV4.0 projects. With his contribution “contactless outdoor photoluminescence of silicon photovoltaic modules with large area excitation source”, the talented student has won one of the Student Awards at the “EU PVSEC 2020” – something that he can be very proud of – which of course we are! (more…)

The right time for solar energy

Even though South Africa is still considered to be the most developed nation on the continent, the country is facing tremendous energy challenges like many other African countries. The Rainbow Nation’s energy provider Eskom is over indebted, operates mostly old generation facilities and struggles with an unstable grid. The utility provider is often not able to meet the country’s electricity demand and regularly implements “Load Shedding” – planned power cuts to avoid a breakdown of the system. In addition, Eskom is likely to implement a rise of electricity prices by 15 percent from July 2021 on after an increase of around 7 percent in July this year already. (more…)

Photovoltaics in Poland – a rapid development

If you think of photovoltaics (PV) and renewable energy, Poland is probably not necessarily one of the countries that immediately comes to mind. After all, coal continues to dominate in Poland and the country is almost completely dependent on it, especially when it comes to heating and electricity. According to the Polish Photovoltaic Society, solar energy only accounts for less than one percent of the energy mix. But the latest developments show that this will soon change. The demand is increasing and Poland is showing more and more what PV potential the country has. (more…)