Norway exempts solar power sharing in industrial zones from grid fees
Norway has introduced fiscal incentives for commercial and industrial (C&I) energy communities, exempting solar power sharing within a single industrial site from electricity taxes and grid fees.
Combining PV-driven heat pumps with district heating in multi-apartment buildings
An international research group has investigated how PV-powered heat pumps and district heating could be combined to heat a multi-apartment building in Sweden and have found that, of the three combinations they evaluated, relying on heat pumps as the primary heat source was the “most beneficial solution” in terms of operating costs and environmental impact.
GameChange Solar introduces terrain-following tracker designed to reduce land grading
The Genius Tracker TF supports slops of up to 1.7 degrees between posts, thereby reducing land grading costs.
German castle now hosting brick-red PV system
A castle in Bavaria, Germany, has installed a brick-red PV system using colored solar modules from Italy-based FuturaSun. The project was enabled by a recent amendment to Bavaria’s Monument Protection Act, allowing solar on heritage buildings.
SolarStations.org: Mapping the future of solar resource assessment
IEA PVPS Task 16 recently introduced SolarStations.org, a global catalogue of solar irradiance monitoring stations designed for researchers, developers, and policymakers. This openly available resource catalogues more than 800 multi-component stations –of which more than 400 are currently active – offering a comprehensive view of high-quality ground-based solar data.
New method for PV site suitability mapping
Scientists in Malaysia have developed a novel deep-learning method for PV suitability mapping. Applying the new approach to the Middle East, they found that approximately 5.8% of the region has very high suitability and 11.5% is highly suitable for PV energy development.
Mitsubishi testing aquifer thermal energy storage for renewables
The Japanese conglomerate and the Osaka Metropolitan University are testing an aquifer thermal energy storage system that directly uses 10,000 m3 of groundwater stored at 5 C in a cooling well. It is intended to store renewable energy and produce cooling for air conditioning in the summer or heating for the winter.
Solar surpasses 10% of U.S. electrical generation for a full month for the first time
In April, solar photovoltaics accounted for 10.64% of all electricity generation, according to the EIA. Combined with wind, the two sources neared 25%, while carbon-free electricity edged above 49%.
Belgium expected to reach 33.6 GW of PV capacity by 2035
Belgian grid operator Elia says the country might almost double its installed PV capacity from around 12.6 GW in 2025 to 22.5 GW at the end of 2030.
German batteries stabilizing solar energy prices at expense of own profitability
Analyst Thema Consulting Group has calculated the impact of rapid expansion of battery storage systems in Germany and found they will help stabilize solar prices by reducing the number of negatively-priced-electricity hours – but will cannibalize their own revenue in doing so.
