France publishes second-quarter FITs for PV systems up to 500 kW
France has increased feed-in tariffs for all PV system categories, ranging from €181.40 ($190.90)/MWh for installations below 3 kW in size to €96.90/MWh for arrays ranging in capacity from 36 kW to 100 kW.
Module brands that earn the trust of solar installers
The latest global PV installer survey by Germany’s EUPD Research offers a hint of the solar brands which installers, mostly based in Europe, gravitate toward. This year’s report also ventured to South Africa and considered mounting systems for the first time.
Belgium’s Flanders region allocates 57.2 MW of PV in fourth renewables auction
Belgium’s latest renewables procurement exercise resulted in final prices for PV that ranged from €0.03 ($0.0316)/kWh to €0.06/kWh.
Floating PV for unused swimming pools
Ciel & Terre Japan has deployed a floating solar plant on the swimming pool of a school on the Japanese island of Kyushu. Local developer ELM says the project could be extended to more than 6,000 facilities across the country.
Australian solar companies battle to keep staff
Australian solar companies are reporting staff shortages, leading to false price points around the value of installers. Scott Mason, general manager of Platinum Solar Designs, says the shortages aren’t simply part of the nation’s broader skills scarcity; rather, they are endemic to the PV industry and are linked to regulatory issues.
Novel PV system design for green rooftops from France
French startup Ecovégétal has developed a PV system configuration that uses vegetation to reduce the operating temperature of the modules. It says the presence of certain plants on a flat rooftop can even serve as a bulwark against the risk of fire.
France defines standards for agrivoltaics
France’s environmental agency Ademe has released a set of new guidelines that clearly define “agrivoltaics.”
India’s race to 175 GW of renewables slowed by performance of key states
A new report shows that the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh accounted for two-thirds of India’s 65 GW shortfall on its 175 GW renewable energy target, as of March.
More than half of Australian PV installers moving into storage
The number of solar installers in Australia offering storage solutions grew considerably in 2021 and promises to surge again this year, according to a survey by EUPD Research.
Trimaran-shaped floating PV system design from Spain
The proposed system architecture is claimed to offer more stability compared to conventional floating structures and reduces by up to 93% the contact area of the system with the water. The first system prototype was recently developed on a water reservoir in Alava, in the northeastern territory of the Basque Country.
