Dubai utility clamps down on net-metered commercial solar
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has published new regulations blocking ground-mounted commercial and industrial solar projects and capping rooftop installations at 2 MW.
Covid-19 weekly round-up: US job losses raise concern but France and China continued to add new solar
Cell supply shortages could kick-start manufacturing activity in India, EV car sales are braced for a fall while still gaining market share and a new date has been set for the world’s biggest solar trade show.
Australian government stimulates PV in the face of Covid-19 threat
The federal government’s ‘economic response to the coronavirus’ legislation encompasses the installation of commercial and industrial solar.
Study of 100,000 arrays finds proactive O&M preferable
The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory examined five-year data to observe the most common system failure points and how to prevent them. Researchers considered residential, commercial and utility scale plants and found interesting results. While failures cannot be avoided completely, a key takeaway was that close monitoring and timely repair can effectively mitigate the financial effects of failures.
Heating solar panels to clear snow
A Norwegian company has developed a way to melt snow on modules to avoid excess weight on roofs and panels, especially on large commercial and industrial arrays. A control system measuring snow density is linked to DC power supply units to warm the panels.
France sees minimal solar energy price fall after another under-subscribed commercial and industrial tender
The procurement round secured an average solar power price of €96.49/MWh from arrays with a generation capacity of 100-500 kW, a small fall from the €97.48 posted in the previous exercise. Only 150 MW of generation capacity was allocated in the 300 MW tender.
Armenia aims to improve net metering for small scale solar
The government is being helped by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as it designs a new net metering system. The country already supports large scale PV plants and small solar parks.
Mind the gap
Fire safety engineering researchers have demonstrated increasing the gap between the modules of commercial PV arrays and flat roof surfaces is a decisive factor in reducing fire risks. Experiments have identified a critical gap height below which flame spread rate increases significantly.
Italy rebalances PV market
The government has abrogated a controversial measure introduced last year which favored big developers in the allocation of fiscal incentives for rooftop projects linked to building renovation.
Seoul launches 1 GW rooftop solar plan
The South Korean capital has unveiled a plan to deploy rooftop PV on a million homes and all public buildings. The new initiative is designed to bring the city’s cumulative installed solar capacity to around 1 GW by the end of 2022.
