Commercial & Industrial PV

S&P Global Commodity Insights says it expects China to install 170 GW of solar in 2023, with global capacity additions to potentially surpass 400 GW.

Researchers from the Netherlands have assessed the potential integration of heat pumps, electric vehicles, and PV systems into distribution grids. They have discovered that suburban grids could face a higher risk of overload. By using actual data from Dutch distribution grid operators, they believe their methodology could be applied to study energy systems in other nations.

Recent data published by Great Britain’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) show the country’s solar PV cumulative capacity was 15,292.8 MW at the end of July, with newly installed capacity for the first seven months of this year reaching 643 MW. Although Gareth Simkins of Solar Energy UK said these figures were ‘relatively low’, he explained that several utility scale PV plants may have not been included in the statistics so far and there was cause for optimism.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, explains that the climatology of Africa leads to very different seasonal generation patterns from what European solar producers experience. Data analysed by Solcast, via the Solcast API, shows this seasonal variance from summer to winter in 2023.

China’s GoodWe has introduced specialized carport solar panels to the Australian market. The panels are designed to address concerns related to water drainage and wiring.

Swiss scientists claim no distribution grid expansion is needed to increase the share of solar PV in energy systems, but they warn that priority dispatch for PV during peak loads may become a serious issue in the years to come. Among a range of recommendations, they proposed reducing peak loads by developing grid-serving behavior with PV system owners having to do their part.

Electra Power, an Israeli energy supplier, is now in negotiations to sell its PV operations for up to $7.88 million. Last year, it reported an operational capacity of 4.7 MW and a project backlog of 25 MW.

EDF Renewables UK and Ireland, a unit of French energy giant EDF, has acquired UK solar installer SAS Energy. It says the acquisition will facilitate new projects in the solar, electric vehicle, and battery storage sectors.

Scientists in China have outlined a new system architecture for vacuum integrated photovoltaic (VPV) curtain walls. They claim the new design can reduce building energy consumption and yield more surplus power generation electricity.

Swisspower-Stadtwerk SIG says its pilot solar bicycle path in Satigny will pave the way for similar projects in Switzerland.