Weak La Niña patterns shape North American solar in February
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports a mixed picture for solar irradiance across North America, influenced by the weak La Niña pattern that first emerged in the tropical Pacific last year.
Canada deploys 314 MW of solar in 2024
Canada installed 314 MW of solar in 2024, bringing its cumulative installed PV capacity to more than 5 GW, says the Canadian Renewable Energy Association.
Sinovoltaics updates map of North American solar supply chain
The North American manufacturing hub has added several new producers across the PV module supply chain but analysts see continued cell, wafer, and polysilicon capacity constraints. The report is based on announcements of capacities at sites in the region producing PV modules, cells, wafers, ingots, polysilicon, and metallurgical-grade silicon.
New algorithm for fault detection in renewables microgrids
An Iraqi-Canadian research team has created a new algorithm that can detect direction change in the line current of renewables-based microgrids. The novel approach can be applied to both grid-forming and grid-following infrastructures.
Canadian startup unveils substring inverter prototypes
Daanaa says its news Zodiac substring inverter delivers up to 42% more energy than a regular setup.
Strawberry fields forever, and with transparent PV
Scientists have grown strawberries under thin-film cadmium telluride panels with varying transparency. They found that 40% transparency maintained a greater than 80% yield of uncovered plants. If all strawberry farms in the world were converted to agrivoltaics, they would produce up to 173 TWh a year.
Mitrex launches solar PV railing systems
The Canadian building-integrated PV manufacturer has launched semi-transparent and opaque solar PV railing systems for balconies or walkways, for retrofit or new buildings. The products are delivered with support bars, concealed cabling and a choice of mounting systems.
Viessmann unveils ductless air-to-air heat pumps for residential, light commercial applications
The manufacturer claims the new products are particularly suitable for older homes, renovations in extreme climates. All models are said to provide “reliable” cooling and heating at temperatures spanning from -30 C to 50 C.
Mitigating default risk in large-scale PV projects through credit default swaps
A research group has proposed to hedge default risk in the utility-scale PV business by adopting credit default swaps. The new methodology was tested through a series of Montecarlo simulations and reportedly showed how PV asset owners can transfer default risk to a protection seller at an affordable cost.
Ontario rebate scheme to subsidize rooftop solar, heat pumps, battery storage
The government of the Canadian province of Ontario is launching an energy rebate program later this month, offering up to 30% off the cost of residential rooftop solar panels, heat pumps, and battery storage for homes.
