California Supreme Court to review rooftop solar net metering
California’s highest court granted review to a lawsuit challenging a “regressive” rooftop solar policy called NEM 3.0.
Vertical agrivoltaics for forage crops, animal grazing
US-based Sunstall has deployed a vertical agrivoltaic facility based on its racking solution in the United States. The system features 18 rows of 21 panels and has a total capacity of 170 kW.
Solar, wind energy curtailment skyrocketed in Japan in fiscal 2023
New figures from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) show that wind and solar power curtailment increased significantly to 1.76 TWh over the past 12 months, from 0.57 TWh in fiscal 2022 and 0.53 TWh in fiscal 2023.
Austria earmarks €35 million for battery rebates
The Austrian authorities are granting a rebate of €200 ($214)/kWh to residential and commercial storage systems.
PV-powered heat pumps outperform solar thermal-driven counterparts in densely populated areas
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.
New York’s open-access solar-projection tool beats commercial competition
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.
Negative electricity prices registered in nearly all European energy markets
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.
Solar is starting to sunset use of natural gas in Texas
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 surpasses 75 GW of installed solar capacity
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).
France issues new rules for agrivoltaics
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.
