Australian rooftop PV safety standards under fire in new report
The Australian rooftop PV market is expected to eclipse all previous records in 2020, but a new report has raised serious questions about the fire safety standards associated with small-scale solar installations.
India deployed 400 MW of rooftop PV in Q2
India added 399 MW of new rooftop solar capacity in the second quarter (July-Sept) of fiscal 2020-21. By comparison, just 188 MW was installed in the corresponding period last year.
EU pumps another €82m into African renewables
A €62m Italo-French program will reduce risk for project developers and a €20m Spanish scheme will fund off-grid installations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The best renewables combination for off-grid power supply
Scientists in India have proposed a model to design an off-grid, hybrid energy system based on a combination of solar, wind, biomass, biogas and fuel cell, linked to storage, for electrifying a cluster of three village hamlets in the Indian state of Karnataka. The model is implemented through the HOMER software and a genetic algorithm.
Indonesia has 18.2 MW of solar under net metering
Most of Indonesia’s deployed capacity comes from industrial PV systems, at 7.7 MW, while residential PV installations stand at just 5.1 MW. The authorities introduced improved net metering provisions earlier this year.
More land restrictions for solar in Taiwan
PV developers will no longer be allowed to deploy solar on salt flats in ecologically sensitive areas in Chiayi County and the city of Tainan.
New panel cleaning tech based on nano-coating and mechanical vibration
Researchers in Egypt have tested a new solar module cleaning technique for solar arrays in arid regions. They claim that the combination of nano-coatings with vibration mechanisms on the backs of modules can reduce manual cleaning requirements.
‘Solar should be at heart of EU recovery’
Solarpower Europe has called on member states to put solar and battery storage front and center when it comes to drawing up the Recovery and Resilience plans needed to secure a slice of the bloc’s proposed €672.5 billion post-Covid stimulus package.
Floating PV on a quarry lake in southern Germany
Spanish company Isigenere has deployed a 739 kW floating array on a quarry lake near Dettelbach, in the Bavaria region. The plant is relying on 1,896 panels with a power output of 395 W each.
China could add 48 GW of solar next year – AECEA
The in-country analyst has revised up its expectation for this year and says a healthy unsubsidized project pipeline will keep the numbers ticking over in 2021. The spending plans necessary to ramp up renewables targets in the next five-year plan, though, could put the nation on a collision course with the EU.
