Malaysian government launches incentive scheme for residential solar
The Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation in Malaysia is teaming up with private and public partners in the country to offer citizens financial incentives and discounts when adopting solar. It follows a government rebate scheme introduced in April.
Buildings can offer gigawatts of new peak capacity as ‘batteries’
Modeling shows that shifting just one-third of the electricity consumption of commercial and institutional buildings in Australia to the middle of the day, coinciding with peak solar supply, would create almost 12 GW of new peak capacity in the National Electricity Market.
Sonnenkraft unveils 400 W TOPCon panel for terracotta red rooftops
Austrian manufacturer Sonnenkraft has developed a terracotta glass-glass module that aesthetically blends in with tiled roofs. It has an efficiency rating of 20.02%.
Switzerland records 600 MW of subsidized PV projects in Q1
The Swiss Federal Office of Energy says the number of PV installations registered for subsidies with Pronovo, a Swiss government agency, rose 81% year on year in the first three months of 2024.
South Australia tests energy-smart homes to ease pressure on grid
An “Australian first” demonstration of aggregated flexible demand in residential settings will be rolled out in South Australia, with the state’s principle electricity distributor to deliver smart energy upgrades for 500 households as part of a pilot program to coordinate power usage and support the grid.
Korean researchers build vertical solar panels with low reflection losses
The modules are equipped with Maxeon solar cells and a microprism sheet that reportedly upholds a transmittance exceeding 99%. The microprism array is imprinted onto a PET sheet using the roll-to- roll embossing technique.
Photovoltaics for vapor compression refrigeration
Scientists in China have developed a PV-driven direct-drive refrigeration system for electronic device cooling. The proposed system has so far provided low exergy levels, but its costs are much lower than those of conventional vapor compression refrigeration technologies.
VSole presents wall-mount residential hybrid inverters
Indian manufacturer VSole has introduced single-phase hybrid inverters 3 kW to 6 kW with power output ratings. The inverters reportedly allow uninterrupted power to the connected loads, with a UPS-level switching time of four milliseconds.
Belgian grid operator releases tool to help residential PV system owners detect inverter failures
The so-called “network checker” will allow residential PV customers in Belgium to check if there have been any inverter failures in their local area. It comes after Belgian grid operator Fluvius launched a compensation scheme for those who are not reconnected within 30 working days of a curtailment.
Climate change to drive value of rooftop solar
University of Michigan researchers have found that the value of rooftop solar will increase by between 5% and 15% by the mid-century across a range of US cities under moderate climate change, and by up to 20% by the end of the century.
