Data center firms could buy utilities and add renewables, says trade group exec
Data center firms could purchase electric utilities and add renewable generation in the United States, says Simon Mahan, executive director of the Southern Renewable Energy Association, which represents the wind, solar, storage and transmission sectors.
Photovoltaics for cocoa pod splitting
Scientists have designed a cocoa pod splitting device that runs on five monocrystalline PV panels. They have simulated its operation and have found it can achieve a splitting efficiency of 98.92%.
How to store PV power with hybridization of lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors
Researchers in Denmark have developed a new sizing strategy to combine PV system operation with lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors. The proposed approach is claimed to reduce annual battery cycle by 13%.
Germany deploys 1.4 GW of solar in July
Germany added 8.65 GW of new photovoltaic capacity in the first seven months of this year, according to the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), bringing cumulative solar deployments to more than 109 GW.
Activ8 Energies acquires Low Carbon Energy to expand UK solar portfolio
Activ8 Energies, 50% owned by SSE Airtricity, has acquired all shares of UK-based Low Carbon Energy (LCE) to strengthen its commercial and industrial (C&I) solar portfolio in the United Kingdom.
Record-warm July boosts solar in North, dampens South and East
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that persistent high‑pressure over Scandinavia delivered significantly elevated irradiance up to 30 % above normalin July, while central and eastern Europe faced reduced solar generation under increased cloud cover and rainfall.
PVFarm enhances tracker, terrain tools for large-scale PV planning
The U.S. software company has improved its single-axis tracker and fixed tilt configurators for planning large-scale projects, adding customization features and additional support for terrain-conforming designs.
Ukraine adds 500 MW of solar in H1
Provisional figures from the Solar Energy Association of Ukraine indicate around 500 MW of solar was deployed across the first six months of the year in Ukraine. The association expects this year’s additions to reach around 1 GW by the year end.
Canyon Solar installs 250 kW modular PV canopy overnight in Australia
Modular PV manufacturer Canyon Solar has successfully installed 250 kWp of solar in a single night as part of a three-week build at a shopping center in northeastern Australia.
Zeo Energy acquires Heliogen, combining rooftop PV with CSP towers
Florida-based rooftop solar developer Zeo Energy Corp. has acquired Heliogen, a concentrated solar power (CSP) tower specialist, combining distributed PV expertise with utility-scale solar technology.
