Solar, storage provides energy solution for remote Australian town
The remote town of William Creek in the Australian outback is now entirely powered by solar backed by a battery energy storage system, after the switch was flicked on a 200 kW PV array that eliminates the need for diesel generation.
Viessmann unveils ground-source heat pump for space, water heating
Viessmann has developed a heat pump for residential applications that can produce between 5.8 kW to 10.4 kW of heat. It has the capacity to heat 220 liters of domestic water, with a coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 4.8 for space heating and 3.14 for water heating.
New database for Brazil’s solar generation potential
Scientists have calculated the solar generation potential of every Brazilian state. The study show that the nation has the potential to install 337.83 GW of solar. The state of Bahia leads with 43.97 GW, followed by Minas Gerais with 41.84 GW and Mato Grosso with 39.73 GW.
New model estimates PV potential for water pumping in Africa
An international team has developed a numerical model that calculates how much groundwater can be pumped by PV systems of different sizes across the entire African continent. The results show that larger PV systems do not always pump the highest volume of water.
India installed 1.6 GW of rooftop solar in 2022
India reached almost 8.8 GW of cumulative installed rooftop PV capacity at the end of December 2022. The state of Gujarat led in terms of deployment, with a 24% share of rooftop solar installations.
FuturaSun unveils n-type heterojunction solar modules
Italy’s FuturaSun has developed new bifacial double-glass PV modules based on n-type heterojunction (HJT) half-cut multi-busbar solar cells. The Velvet Pro line features M6 cells with power ratings ranging from 380 W to 480 W for rooftop applications. The Velvet Premium line features M12 cells, with power ratings from 615 W to 700 W for large-scale applications.
Dutch study confirms feasibility of PV plants on dikes
A Dutch consortium recently tested four different PV system configurations along water in the Netherlands. The country has approximately 17,000 km of dikes and a preliminary study has shown that they offer the potential for 11 GW of solar capacity.
Storing solar power by incinerating metals
Scientists in Sweden have proposed the use of excess wind and solar power to incinerate metals such as aluminum and iron, in order to produce heat that could be used to generate electricity or hydrogen.
Australian rooftop solar capacity hits 20 GW
Australia’s rooftop solar capacity will overtake coal-fired capacity to become the country’s largest power generator in April, when a New South Wales coal plant is set to shut down, says solar consultancy SunWiz.
Italy hits 25 GW milestone
Italy deployed 2.48 GW of new PV systems in 2022, with the residential solar segment accounting for almost 50% of the total installed capacity.
