What happens when the sun doesn’t shine?
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has looked at the frequency and duration of “energy droughts” across the United States, as solar and wind are intermittent energy sources.
Lightweight PV system solution for commercial buildings with limited load-bearing capacity
Dutch solar PV manufacturer Solarge is deploying a novel lightweight rooftop solution across several commercial buildings in the Netherlands. Instead of glass, the special modules developed by the company use strong and light polymers, which the company said result in a module weight per square meter of 5.5 kg.
French startup offers AI algorithm package for rooftop PV monitoring
France-based Heliocity has developed HelioFlash, a series of artificial intelligence algorithms that assess PV systems on buildings, while offering recommendations to improve operations.
Bifacial PV on rooftops can provide energy yield gains of up to 22.6%
Scientists in Australia have combined Monte Carlo Ray Trace (MCRT) techniques and electrical modeling to assess the potential energy gains of bifacial rooftop PV systems compared to monofacial arrays. They found that rooftop reflectivity is a key factor in increasing a bifacial PV system performance, and that system and module design should also be carefully considered.
Using waste heat from PV panels to generate residential hot water
Scientists in the United States has developed a new photovoltaic-thermal system design that utilizes parallel water pipes as a cooling system to reduce the operating temperature of photovoltaic panels. The waste heat generated by this process is then used to generate domestic hot water.
Empowering the Energy Transition: New IEA-PVPS Task 19 Sets the Stage for Global PV Grid Integration Collaboration
The new IEA-PVPS Task 19, succeeding Task 14, aims at fostering sustainable PV grid integration and invites experts from diverse countries, disciplines, and organizations to join its ambitious projects, with the aim of reshaping the future of electric power networks and positioning PV as a dominant force within evolving power systems.
Namibia launches tender for bundle of renewable energy projects
The Namibian government is looking for consultants to provide development, environmental and advisory services for a range of renewable energy projects, including solar, wind and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
PI Berlin releases new tool to detect faults in inverters
PI Berlin has developed a new tool to detect problems in inverters such as defective printed circuit boards, faulty switching algorithms, and deficiencies in components and sensors.
Bauer Solar introduces 440 W glass-glass solar modules
Bauer Solar is expanding its “Premium Protect” series with its new 440 W glass-glass solar modules. Since the beginning of December, the German PV manufacturer has only offered glass-glass modules.
Reconfigurable series-parallel photovoltaic modules with high shading tolerance
TU Deflt researchers made a first attempt to validate reconfigurable solar modules using prototypes in outdoor tests. The panels consist of two or more blocks of solar cells that are connected to a switching matrix and reportedly achieve a 10.2% higher energy yield than conventional shade-resilient modules under partial shading conditions.
