Aerosols from wildfires slash North American solar production
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that, throughout July, smoke from wildfires in Canada and the US West Coast significantly impacted irradiance across North America, while Hurricane Beryl and upper atmospheric conditions delivered unstable cloud cover across the central and eastern United States.
New battery sizing approach for virtual synchronous generators, control-based grid-forming inverters
A group of researchers in Australia has outlined a new methodology to determine the minimum power rating of energy storage systems (ESSs) used for emergency under-frequency response. The ESS size must be calculated to maintain the frequency within the standard operating range.
New deterioration diagnosis tech for individual modules in PV panel strings
Conceived by scientists in Japan, the system consists of a a xenon flash lighting system and a detector capacitor. It can reportedly examine solar modules and find the degraded ones without disconnecting the string’s electrical wiring.
AleaSoft notes stability in European electricity prices
AleaSoft Energy Forecasting says European electricity prices were similar in the fourth week of July to the week prior. The Spanish consultancy is expecting the trend to continue into this week.
New tool to estimate cities’ rooftop PV potential considers roof superstructures
Called SolarNet+, the novel framework is claimed to calculate cities’ PV potential not only by finding the orientation of roofs in areal imagery but also by identifying superstructures such as windows or chimneys. It was tested using areal photographs from Munich and Brussels and proved superior to reference frameworks.
Over 667 net metering consumers received solar rebates in Malaysia
Figures from Malaysia’s Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation state at least 667 net metering consumers have benefitted from the country’s solar rebate programme since its inception in April. The majority have received the maximum MYR 4,000 ($875.61) available.
Solar, wind capacity surpasses coal in China
Research consultancy Rystad Energy is predicting solar power will become China’s primary source of electricity by 2026, after the combined capacity of the country’s deployed solar and wind power overtook coal for the first time in June.
UK installs 647 MW of solar in H1
The UK government’s quarterly energy report finds solar leading the pack in new capacity terms. Meanwhile, provisional data to the end of June 2024 reveals the United Kingdom is on course to comfortably exceed 17 GW of recorded capacity during summer months.
ClearVue integrated solar window tech cracks Middle East construction market
Smart building materials company ClearVue Technologies has cracked the Middle East and Indian construction markets after signing a five-year agreement with Qatar’s largest glass and façade manufacturer.
Paris’ solar-powered Olympic village to become collective self-consumption hub
After the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the 15 solar power plants installed by EDF ENR on the roofs of buildings in the athletes’ village will be integrated into a collective self-consumption operation once the future residents of the district have taken possession of the premises.
