Daytime charging of electric vehicles further expands adoption of photovoltaics
Photovoltaics continues adding capacity at a rapid pace, and 2024 was another record year for solar PV deployment. In the meantime, despite recent hurdles to widespread adoption in some countries, electric vehicle uptake grew 25% last year. Assuming a 10 kWh/day energy requirement for every new EV, the 17 million new EVs sold in 2024 would have added another 50-70 GW of new PV generation worldwide.
Slovakia added 274 MW of PV in 2024
Last year’s solar additions, led by installations in the commercial and industrial sector, took Slovakia’s cumulative solar capacity to over 1 GW.
Solar generation grew by 30% in 2024, says IEA
The International Energy Agency’s latest market analysis says global solar generation surpassed the 2,000 TWh mark in 2024. It grew by 30% year-on-year for its highest growth rate since 2017, adding 475 TWh in the calendar year.
New study shows reducing number of solar modules per string reduces risk of hotspots
Scientists in Indonesia have investigated early operational defects in a 24.9 MW solar PV system in Sumatra and have identified hotspot formation as the dominant defect. They also detected 282 cases of glass cracking, 350 cases of junction box failures and shading effects linked to module defects.
PVT-assisted air-source heat pump based on phase-change tank
Scientists in China have designed a photovoltaic-thermal integrated air-source heat pump hot water system that uses a phase change tank to lower energy consumption and achieve higher power generation performance than conventional heat pumps. The system is designed to use water as a working medium and to provide circulation power for forced circulation.
US-based company introduces new solar carports
Brooklyn Solar Company announced a new post-truss, cantilever and wood-post solar carports.
Peru installs 195.4 MW of solar in 2024
At the end of December 2024, the country reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of 476 MW.
Germany hits 100 GW milestone
The country installed around 1.12 GW of new PV capacity in January, thus raising its cumulative installed solar power over the 100 GW threshold.
New database for PV module fault detection
Scientists in Colombia have created a 10-year open dataset for PV panel fault detection. Data was acquired using an electronic load system, oscilloscope, and thermographic camera in outdoor environmental conditions.
Australia’s top PV installers revealed as rooftop solar rises
Sunboost emerged as the top solar installer in the sub-100 kW rooftop PV market in Australia last year, having deployed more than 10,000 rooftop systems in 2024 with a combined capacity of almost 100 MW.
