PV-powered autonomous sea access for people with disabilities
Greek startup Tobea has developed a PV-powered platform for people with disabilities. The system consists of a fixed-track mechanism in which a moving chair can be shifted in and out of the water. It can be powered by conventional modules and relies on a battery supplied by a Greek manufacturer.
Triple Solar unveils new photovoltaic thermal panel for heat-pump houses
Dutch company Triple Solar has launched a new PVT module for residential applications which can be connected to water-to-water or PVT heat pumps. The new panel is said to be 10% larger and have a 15% higher output than the company’s other products and can reach a PV power output of 450 W.
New rules to boost Indonesian net metered rooftop PV
The new rules will increase the PV net metering factor from 0.65 to 100 and the credit accumulation period from three to six months.
Residential battery inverter from the US
US storage system provider NeoVolta has developed a battery inverter that provides 32 A of AC output power. It has a storage capacity of 14.4 KWh that can be expanded to 24.0 kWh with the addition of another battery without the need for a second inverter.
Rio Tinto ramps up PV at remote mine in Australia
Rio Tinto has confirmed that Energy Developments Ltd. is set to start construction of a new PV array and battery storage system that will more than triple the generation capacity at the miner’s AUD 2.6 billion ($1.9 billion) bauxite mining operation at Weipa, in the Australian state of Queensland.
US solar association warns that tariffs could jeopardize one-third of solar projects by 2023
Anti-dumping tariffs would jeopardize 18 GW of solar projects by 2023, the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said in a letter to the Commerce Department.
Novel technique to prevent fires in lithium-ion batteries
Singaporean scientists have developed a special device that prevents the formation of dendrites in lithium-ion storage. The additional layer they created works as an interface on behalf of the negative electrode, to exchange lithium-ions with the positive electrode.
Agrivoltaics for strip farming
Vattenfall is leading a Dutch consortium in a research project to assess whether agrivoltaics is also compatible with strip cropping. The company’s head of Solar Development NL, Annemarie Schouten, spoke with pv magazine about the first 0.7 MW pilot project under development in the northern Dutch province of Flevoland.
Croatia launches rebate scheme for rooftop PV
The €7.4 million scheme is being financed through the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2014-2021. Rebates will cover up to 85% of the costs for buying and installing a PV system.
Russia’s renewables auction concludes with lowest solar bid of $0.059/kWh
In the procurement exercise, the Russian energy regulator allocated 775 MW of PV capacity, 1,851 MW of wind power, and 96 MW of hydropower capacity. The auction concluded with an average price of RUB 5.18 ($0.070)/kWh.
