Technology

German software company Autarc launched a platform for residential heat pump projects, covering design, planning and customer project management functionality. It uses LiDAR imaging to enable heat load and hydraulic balancing calculations, as well as visualizations.

Germany-based Sun-X says it has patented a soiling sensor for PV modules that accurately measures dirt levels, determines yield loss, and assesses optimal cleaning times.

Italian energy producer ERG has launched an initiative to reuse discarded solar modules from revamped plants for social solar projects. The program aims to support communities, hospitals, families, and schools in Africa and Italy, using panels that are still in good condition and fully functional.

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest report warns that failing to support integration at the point of deployment could jeopardize up to 15% of solar and wind projects by 2030. This shortfall would reduce their combined share of the global electricity mix by 5%.

Yashika Energy Systems has partnered with Germany’s Next2Sun and Wattkraft India to launch pilot projects that integrate vertical bifacial solar technology with agriculture, ranging from 100 kWp to 500 kWp.

The EU-funded Laperitivo project aims for 22% efficiency in 900 cm² opaque perovskite modules and 20% efficiency in semi-transparent ones. The project partners include imec, Fraunhofer ISE, TotalEnergies, and EDF.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

What happens to a solar PV module after its expected 25-year operational life? With around 2 TW of rooftop and utility-scale PV already deployed worldwide, and a large number of them being retired before operating for 15 years, the amount of PV modules being discarded is growing every year. As PV modules are becoming cheaper by the day, and with the constant improvement in PV module efficiencies, many utility-scale PV power plants are starting to be repowered even before they reach their expected 25 years of operation. Many of these modules are still performing well. Can they be deployed for a second life to provide solar electricity for a few more years?

New research from Germany shows that investing in residential PV remains an optimal choice even when price breaks on electricity and natural gas are applied. The scientists quantified the savings that PV systems achieved between 2019 and 2022, when the COVID-19 crisis and the outburst of the war in Ukraine made prices in the electricity markets extremely volatile.

New research from Spain reveals that stricter environmental impact assessments of large scale PV plants contrasts with smaller solar parks, which are not subject to the same degree of restrictions. The review also highlighted the need for more cumulative and synergistic environmental impact assessments.