Residential PV

Energy Minister Angus Taylor has announced there will be no replacement for the nation’s renewables target, casting a long shadow over investment predictability in the Australian renewable energy sector.

More than 100 free storage systems will given to residential and commercial users to maximize utilization rates of storage systems while reducing costs for grid operators. The algorithms behind the technology would improve the supply situation and shave peak demand.

The EU PVSEC conference and exhibition in Brussels began this morning with presentations from key figures in PV development, who celebrated the technology’s achievements so far and predicted even bigger things in the coming years. pv magazine‘s Mark Hutchins was on hand to hear all about it.

pv magazine’s Quality Roundtable at the 2018 Renewable Energy India (REI) Expo, took place in front of a packed audience. It discussed current problem areas in the India solar industry; how solar developers and solution providers can improve the quality of PV installations; and innovative financial instruments to reduce the cost of debt and scale up infrastructure investment.

The Italian Revenue Agency has clarified that the purchase and installation of a residential storage system linked to a rooftop PV system may also take advantage of the 50% of Irpef deduction, an indirect incentive that has played a major role in driving solar growth in the residential and commercial segments over the past years.

Around 40 billion kWh of clean electricity will be generated by PV systems in Germany during the first nine months of the year. According to calculations by the German Solar Industry Association, the total generation figure from last year will soon be reached.

The investigation will be carried out by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research on behalf of the national enterprise agency and at the request of PV association Holland Solar and Uneto-VNI, the country’s installers’ association.

This year’s version of Berkeley Lab’s Tracking the Sun report saw residential installs fall 6% to $3.50 / W, small business fall 11% to $2.90 / W and large business fell 5% to $2.20 /W in 2017, with light changes in early 2018. However, these averages cover wide price variances in different markets.

Cheaper modules for its PV development activity boosted profits in the first half but, with no mention made of Beijing’s May 31 bombshell, it is notable 98.1% of revenue came from its domestic market.

The funds will be used to finance the Battle for Solar Power Programme, a loan scheme for households and businesses willing to install rooftop PV under net metering or net accounting mechanisms.