Commercial & Industrial PV

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Brazilian solar power production outperformed December expectations, with most of the country’s utility scale assets receiving irradiance well above average irradiance. Argentina saw storms through the month, though the south of the country stayed mostly dry and saw some of the highest daily irradiance across the continent.

While keeping rooftop solar panels clean and regularly maintained can deter most unwelcome visitors, householders may sometimes have to take more concrete measures to avoid wildlife taking up residence.

ODE Vlaanderen, a renewable energy association in Belgium, says the Flanders region likely added more than 1 GW of solar capacity in 2023. While the residential market will probably have less orders in early 2024, the organization says it expects strong growth in the large-scale market.

Scientists in Turkey determined the optimal tilt angle for agrivoltaic projects associated with different crops in the central Mediterranean region, and other regions with similar latitude and climatic conditions.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) says it expects solar generation to grow from 163 billion kWh in 2023 to 286 billion kWh in 2025.

The French solar market grew by around 30% in 2023, reaching 3.15 GW, according to new data from Enedis. PV systems for self-consumption accounted for around one-third of all new capacity additions.

With so much more agricultural real estate than Europe, the United States is building on the body of research built up across The Pond and rolling out solar panels on farmland at an impressive rate.

Canadian researchers have conducted a lifecycle analysis showing that it’s good for the environment to put solar on rooftops, but a mix of small-scale PV and agrivoltaics might be a better alternative.

Solar fences are starting to gain traction in European and North American markets, with figures from energy software specialist Gridcog suggesting that vertical bifacial solar could also be technically and economically viable in Australia.

Israeli developer Shikun & Binui Energy says it will operate a 130 MW solar project next to a highway in Israel for a period of 25 years. It will also include up to 240 MWh of storage.