Residential PV

Carrier will soon begin field tests for a prototype air-source heat pump for cold climates. It is designed to provide high-efficiency heating performance in harsh climates with temperatures equal or below negative 29 degrees Celsius, while being grid-interactive. The US-based heating tech specialist expects to commercialize the solution by 2024.

Radovan Kopecek, an expert on interdigitated back-contacted (IBC) tech, says that IBC solar panels could capture more than 50% of the global market by 2030, potentially pushing TOPCon products out of competition. He told pv magazine how this transition might materialize and discussed the tech advancements that could make it possible.

Researchers say that from 2008 to 2020, the globalization of solar module manufacturing saved $67 billion for US, German, and Chinese solar installers, even though it was dominated by Chinese investment.

Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) says that 691 MW of new PV systems were subsidized under the country’s EEG renewables incentive program in September.

A roof-mounted air source heat pump has reportedly been installed for the first time in the United Kingdom, as part of a pilot project at the University of Salford. The performance of the 200 kg Bosch 3400i Hydrotop will be compared to a similar unit mounted on the wall of a home.

In 2020, 3.7% of US homes generated electricity from small-scale solar arrays, reports the US Energy Information Administration.

A new study has calculated that the globalized PV module supply chain has saved billions for PV installers in Germany, the US and China. It also found that if strong nationalistic policies that limit the free flow of talent and capital were implemented going forward, solar panel costs would be 20-25% higher by 2030.

As part of Aurora Solar’s Empower 2022 online solar summit, Bernadette Del Chiaro, from the California Solar & Storage Association, will moderate a talk about electric utilities and how they have abused their monopoly position to discriminate against solar in the US. Here, she gives pv magazine a taste of the presentation.

The auction was set to contract 140 MW of distributed solar power, as part of a 520 MW tender open to thermal solar power projects for the first time. In total, 177 MW have been awarded, none of which went to thermal, 31 MW to photovoltaic, and the remainder to biomass.

At present, only a few distributors offer net-metering services in Finland, meaning that only a small share of PV systems are net-metered. In 2023, all PV systems will be offered net metering through the country’s new centralized information exchange system for the retail electricity market.