Many buildings in Germany unsuitable for rooftop PV, says TÜV Süd
TÜV Süd has discovered that 8% of the rooftops it examined in Germany last year are not suitable for PV deployment.
PV and prices – the fast uptake of solar in Australia
Australia currently has about 40% renewable electricity, mostly solar and wind. This is not causing wholesale spot prices to change, nor destabilizing the grid. On current policy settings, the country will reach 82% renewable electricity in 2030.
Phnix releases residential air-to-water heat pump
The Chinese manufacturer said its new propane heat pump has a seasonal coefficient of performance exceeding 5.0.
Dark December for northern Europe, sunny in the South
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that increased cloud led to solar assets in Northern Germany and the Netherlands receiving only 70% of normal irradiance in December. This cloud activity, however, did not make it below the Alps, and Southern Europe saw reduced rain and significantly less cloud than normal, with some regions experiencing 130% of the normal December irradiance.
French startup offers new solution for green solar rooftops
Vegetek has developed a “biosolar” roof solution for new and existing buildings. It combines the benefits of greenery and solar panels.
IEA warns of Australian rooftop PV slowdown amid high costs, grid issues
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the rollout of rooftop solar in Australia will drop off “faster than anticipated,” with grid integration challenges and saturation of the power system contributing to a revision of expectations for renewable energy growth.
Hybridizing residential ground source heat pumps with PVT, free cooling
Researchers in Sweden sought to raise the efficiency of ground source heat pumps by combining their operation with that of PVT systems and free cooling. Through a series of simulations, they found that this integrated solution may reduce borehole length and land area requirements.
ClearVue scores commercial first with solar glass tech
Australia’s ClearVue Technologies has secured an order to provide its clear solar glass technology for a AUD 12 million ($8.0 million), six-floor building in Melbourne.
Machine learning algorithm for inverter fault monitoring, prediction
The new algorithm monitors the inverter subsystems and sends alarms when maximum and minimum values are reached. It analyzes data and categorizes variables according to historic values.
Colombia introduces new provisions for energy communities
Colombia’s new decree includes requirements that energy communities must meet, such as rules on collective self-consumption and collective distributed generation.
