Solar LCOE may decrease by up to 20% in Europe by 2030
In its latest monthly column for pv magazine, the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV) presents its levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) calculations for several European locations in period between 2023 and 2050. The organization forecasts that solar LCOE in Europe may fall by up to 50% by 2050.
Enphase unveils new three-phase inverters
Enphase has released 208 V three-phase inverters for the small commercial market. The advancing hardware comes with a specialized support team and tailored design tools.
US residential PV up 24% through Q3, growth may slow in 2024, says WoodMac
Wood Mackenzie says the fundamentals are slowly shifting in the US residential solar market, as interest rates are expected to cool and utility electricity rates are set to rise considerably.
Canadian startup unveils residential air source heat pump for cold climates
Terravis Energy said its heat pump prototype uses difluoromethane (R32) as the refrigerant and has a seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) of approximately 3.0 under Ontario’s environmental conditions.
What happens when the sun doesn’t shine?
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has looked at the frequency and duration of “energy droughts” across the United States, as solar and wind are intermittent energy sources.
Lightweight PV system solution for commercial buildings with limited load-bearing capacity
Dutch solar PV manufacturer Solarge is deploying a novel lightweight rooftop solution across several commercial buildings in the Netherlands. Instead of glass, the special modules developed by the company use strong and light polymers, which the company said result in a module weight per square meter of 5.5 kg.
Geothermal heat pumps to decarbonize buildings
The mass adoption of geothermal heat pumps could decarbonize buildings and reduce grid transmission needs, according to a report by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
French startup offers AI algorithm package for rooftop PV monitoring
France-based Heliocity has developed HelioFlash, a series of artificial intelligence algorithms that assess PV systems on buildings, while offering recommendations to improve operations.
Bifacial PV on rooftops can provide energy yield gains of up to 22.6%
Scientists in Australia have combined Monte Carlo Ray Trace (MCRT) techniques and electrical modeling to assess the potential energy gains of bifacial rooftop PV systems compared to monofacial arrays. They found that rooftop reflectivity is a key factor in increasing a bifacial PV system performance, and that system and module design should also be carefully considered.
Using waste heat from PV panels to generate residential hot water
Scientists in the United States has developed a new photovoltaic-thermal system design that utilizes parallel water pipes as a cooling system to reduce the operating temperature of photovoltaic panels. The waste heat generated by this process is then used to generate domestic hot water.
