Commercial & Industrial PV

An Italian research group has assessed the advantages of combining solar power generation in greenhouses with vertical farming. The scientists claim this new approach offers better land use while increasing agricultural yield.

The growth of European rooftop solar continues this year, with innovative companies raising capital to develop the market. It’s an encouraging trend with the potential to accelerate rooftop solar adoption. pv magazine correspondent Valerie Thompson takes a closer look.

The Amortisator app, initially developed for the German market, is now available on the Apple and Google Play stores. Primarily targeting customer advisors, the app can be accessed for a monthly fee of €9.99 ($10.93).

SNCF says it wants to devote 1,000 hectares of its land to solar development, so it can cover 20% of its electricity consumption by the end of the decade.

American researchers are proposing to use steel zip ties to attach solar modules to fences in animal farms as a low-cost racking solution for agrivoltaic applications. They found the proposed approach is technically and economically viable, provided careful wind load tests are conducted on the fences.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, presents the solar irradiance data it collected for Europe in June. The data show that unusual high pressure over the North Sea caused June’s total irradiation across England and France to be as much as 20% above normal,

Renewable energy accounted for around 49.6% of total electricity demand in the the Netherlands in the first half of this year, according to data from the Nationaal Klimaat Platform.

Small-scale PV systems drove the installation of more than 200 GW of solar capacity last year and could support more than 300 GW this year. That means a reset for utilities.

India’s Prasham Greens has designed water-draining clamps to get rid of accumulated water from the edges of solar panels after rain and water-based cleaning.

Poland will more than double its installed PV capacity between 2023 and 2025, according to research institute IEO. pv magazine spoke with IEO researcher Agata Krzyżanowska about the main market drivers, the trajectory of the auction system, and potential grid constraints.