Residential PV

Swiss hydropower company Engadiner Kraftwerke said the new PV system went into service in the Swiss Canton of Graubunden to generate 230,000 kWh per annum. The array utilizes solar modules provided by Lithuanian manufacturer Solitek.

Scientists have proposed to use PV energy and heat pump-driven HVAC system in greenhouses conceived to grow tomatoes in the Mediterranean area. The system was found to have a payback time of only 2.9 years in southern Spain.

As rooftop solar racks up records in Australia, price cannibalization has resulted in a “struggling” large-scale market segment. Bruce Mountain, head of the University of Victoria’s Energy Policy Centre, says that increasingly depressed wholesale electricity prices during the day are squeezing out big PV.

The residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural solar installer files for bankruptcy amid troubled macroeconomic conditions for distributed solar nationwide.

Tripling clean energy generation capacity to 11 TW by 2030 was a leading pledge from the United Nations’ (UN) climate change conference in Dubai. With few details about infrastructure and energy storage and no clear PV targets, however, it is hard to judge the effectiveness of the 28th global Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting. Angela Skujins considers possible impacts for the solar industry.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that North America saw irradiance below average, primarily due to the stormy conditions that prevailed during the second half of January.

PV systems, surpassing minimum load demands in various regions, necessitate innovative grid integration measures. Active power management (APM), notably curtailment, emerges as a powerful solution here. By actively managing power peaks, PV systems can unlock new possibilities, contribute to grid stability, and enhance their overall value. The new IEA-PVPS Task 14 report encourages a shift in perspective, urging DSOs to explore the potential of APM instead of traditional grid expansion methods.

The new products use propane (R290) as a refrigerant and have heating and cooling capacities ranging from 8 kW to 30 kW.

The Philippines’ Department of Energy (DOE) is moving ahead with plans to require solar system installers to officially register with it. The DOE says that only registered installers will be recommended to government entities seeking PV installation services.

Kosovo plans to auction off 950 MW of renewables over the next two years, to the tune of €1.2 billion ($1.29 billion).