Offgrid hybrid PV-biogas system for residential applications
The system was conceived to respond to Lebanon’s energy crisis and help homeowners become independent from grid electricity. Biogas production is used when PV power generation is insufficient and machine learning techniques help the system predict solar energy production.
Switzerland to host world’s largest redox flow storage project
Flexbase plans to build a 500 MW redox flow storage project in Laufenburg in early 2025.
GE Vernova releases 2,000 V (DC) utility-scale inverter
GE Vernova has developed a 2,000 V (DC) utility-scale inverter, to be used in a North American pilot operation starting in early 2025. The inverter offers up to 6.0 MVA of output power.
Solar cabinet for water disinfection systems
German fluid management company Lutz-Jesco introduced a system aimed at supporting pumping and water disinfection in cases of blackouts. The hub is preconfigured to work with solar panels, a battery charge controller, an inverter, and cabling.
Using surplus PV power for seasonal underground thermal storage
Scientists have proposed a new system that uses surplus PV energy in the spring and the autumn to charge up underground thermal energy storage for later use in the summer and winter. They have simulated it on a school facility in Seoul, with a few optional configurations for thermal storage. Power savings were up to 39%.
Storage, hydrogen, and demand flexibility key to avoiding negative prices
Antonio Delgado Rigal, CEO of Spain’s AleaSoft Energy Forecasting, speaks with pv magazine about the rise in negative price hours in major European energy markets. He emphasizes the need for more storage capacity and argues that negative price periods will probably not threaten project profitability over the long term.
France records 233 hours of negative electricity prices in H1
KiloWattSol, an independent solar consultancy, says there were 308 hours of negative electricity prices from the start of 2024 to Aug. 23 – more than double the 147 negative hours recorded in 2023.
Singapore signs deals to import 400 MW of renewables from Indonesia
Singapore has advanced its goal to import 4 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035 by signing two new agreements with parties in neighboring countries, including Australia’s SunCable project.
Combining hybrid wind-solar with pumped hydro in rural electrification
Scientists in Morocco have evaluated how hybrid wind solar plants may be combined with pumped hydro storage to power remote rural areas. The proposed system was found to have an LCOE $0.03831/kWh and a 86% use factor.
Finland to build world’s largest air-to-water heat pump plant
Helen, a Helsinki-based energy company, has unveiled plans for a large-scale district heating plant complex. Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions is supplying a 33 MW air-to-water heat pump, the largest ever used for a district-heating plant, with ambient air and renewable electricity for heat generation.
