Construction begins on 1.2 MW modular PV plant in Australia
Modular PV array manufacturer 5B is deploying its preassembled, relocatable modular solar tech in a solar and battery energy storage project on Bathurst Island, Australia.
Daikin lauches new air-to-air heat pumps
Intended for applications in commercial buildings, the new VRV 5 heat pumps have reportedly a 9.1% higher seasonal efficiency compared to the company’s previous models. The new products use difluoromethane (R32) as the refrigerant.
US tribal community to cut water losses with solar canopy
The Gila River Indian Community says it has broken ground on a solar array that will cover an irrigation canal south of Phoenix, Arizona.
Enphase introduces commercial-scale microinverter
Enphase’s new IQ8-3P solar microinverter offers peak power output of up to 480 W.
Tongwei presents G12 TOPcon solar module series
Tongwei has developed the G12 TOPcon solar module series, with efficiency ratings up to 23.1% and a temperature coefficient of -0.30% per degree Celsius.
Brazil’s oldest PV system turns 26
Prof. Ricardo Rüther, the coordinator of the Strategic Solar Energy Research Group at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), installed a solar energy system at the university 26 years ago. It currently operates at about 80% of its nominal power.
We need a ‘Domestic Renewable Energy Production’ standard for PV installations in Europe
The threat of catastrophic climate change, as well as increasingly obvious economic benefits, make it advisable, indeed essential, to convert our entire energy system to a sustainable system, based on renewable energy (RE) as soon as possible. The two main pillars of our future RE-based energy system will be power generation from PV and wind. In Germany alone, according to detailed studies by Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE, we will need at least about 300 GW of PV and an equally large amount of wind power.
Using air conditioning to cool down PV modules, dry dishes
An international research team has investigated how air conditioning may be used to reduce the operating temperature of PV panels. The researchers not only found that the proposed approach is technically viable, but they also tested the use of excess heat from the panels for drying dishes.
‘Cool roofs’ increase power yield in bifacial rooftop PV systems
A Spanish-Algerian reserch group has tested how “cool roofs” could help increase power yield in rootop bifacial PV systems. Cool roofs are based on coating materials with high reflectance properties.
New MPPT approach for multi-string PV systems under partial shading
Egyptian researchers have developed a multi-string PV system with a converter control strategy, achieving 99.81% efficiency with a direct duty cycle for maximum power point tracking (MPPT).
