Forget toilet paper, Australians are panic-buying PV
Byron Bay-based solar retailer Smart Energy says it is seeing an unprecedented surge in sales and enquiries for solar and home energy storage as consumers look to shore themselves up in uncertain times.
The best string configurations to avoid mismatch losses from rooftop PV shading
Researchers in Pakistan have evaluated the impact of shading on inverter set-ups to assess PV system performance. Tests were conducted on a 51 kW system featuring SMA inverter topologies but the researchers say the findings could be applied to products from other manufacturers. The results showed the number of maximum power point trackers is important but levelized cost of energy calculations are also crucial to selecting the right inverter configuration.
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.
Incentives for small solar-plus-storage in Austria and Italy
Rebates are being offered to homeowners and businesses willing to couple small solar systems with energy storage.
Jinko Solar launches new all-black module
The new n-type panels, which offer 405 W of power output and an efficiency rate of 21.22%, are designed for the residential PV segment.
Energy community provisions for Italy
New measures introduced by the government allow households, businesses and public entities to produce and trade clean electricity in low-voltage grids. The new framework is open to power projects with a generation capacity no larger than 200 kW.
Ukraine has 350 MW of solar under net metering
Around 240 MW of new installations were deployed from October 2018 to the end of September and approximately 70 MW were installed in the third quarter of last year alone, according to the responsible state body.
How to make rooftop PV resilient in hurricane regions
A report published by the Rocky Mountain Institute makes recommendations for rooftop PV in regions affected by high winds. The study draws on the knowledge of structural engineers asked to analyze 25 solar systems across five Caribbean islands after they were hit by major hurricanes in 2017 and last year.
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.
The panel in red
Italian manufacturer Sunerg has developed a solar module for BIPV applications which is said to offer a wide range of options to better match the architectural vision and the design of a building. The 275 W monocrystalline PERC panel is available in mahogany brown, reddish brown, bottle green and black-grey.
