Commercial & Industrial PV

New research from Germany showed that PV-powered heat pumps could require less surface than their solar thermal-driven counterparts in district heating networks. The scientists also found that increasing energy prices would have a minimal impact on the viability of both concepts.

NYSolarCast, a solar-projection tool developed by the state of New York to handle its growing base of PV facilities, demonstrated equal or superior performance than competing commercial alternatives, according to a year-long analysis.

Spanish consultancy AleaSoft Energy Forecasting recorded negative hourly electricity prices for all but one European energy market it analyzed during the first week of April, including in the Spanish and Portuguese markets for the first time. It also registered an all-time production record for photovoltaic energy in Portugal and the second highest value ever recorded in Italy.

Texas, the top US state for solar deployment in 2023, is seeing tangible changes to its daily electricity supply, lowering the need for natural gas peaker plants, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

India’s cumulative PV installations hit 75.58 GW at the end of February, according to the latest figures from the nation’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

The French government has published long-anticipated rules defining conditions for installing PV panels on agricultural areas, with consideration for the coverage rate and acceptable loss of agricultural yield.

Brazil’s cumulative installed PV capacity exceeded 41 GW at the end of March, with utility-scale plants accounting for 13 GW and distributed-generation resources representing 28 GW of the total.

Three large projects in California, Utah, and Oregon will cover water reclamation facilities with solar panels, offering co-benefits for energy production and water conservation.

Germany’s K2 Systems has developed mounting systems that are specifically designed for facades, including walls made from masonry, concrete, sandwiched panels, trapezoidal metal sheets, and corrugated sheets.

Conceived by a group of scientists in Australia, the novel online tool can be modified for different regulatory environments. The program’s user interface asks for seven input files with a resolution of 30 minutes.