solar modules

Clever-PV has developed a manufacturer-independent energy management solution for homes. The app is free to download from app stores and can be connected to PV systems, wall boxes, heat pumps, and other smart devices. This allows users to optimize the use of self-generated solar power.

The hail storms that occurred recently in northern Italy damaged several photovoltaic systems. pv magazine Italy retrieved a report from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 2019 which tried to shed light on the damage caused to solar installations by hail by analyzing the effects of a severe hailstorm that occurred in the Netherlands in 2016. According to their assessments, damages to PV modules are mostly derived from hailstones of at least 3 cm in diameter.

Researchers in Canada have found that nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) with on-site solar energy generation should not exceed an energy use intensity (EUI) of 50 kWh/m2a, which they said corresponds to a maximum of 10 floors. They also ascertained that the maximum permitted EUI by net-zero energy status is 17–28 kWh/m2a.

Indian developers have completed 11 solar parks, aggregating to 8.521 GW, and have partially completed seven solar parks, totaling 3.985 GW, under the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s scheme for the development of solar parks.

India deployed 6.8 GW of solar in the first half of 2023. The rooftop solar segment had 2,294 MW of capacity additions, which is higher than the total rooftop PV installations recorded in 2022.

South Korea’s SDN has developed new bifacial solar modules based on M10 wafers. The new products feature a power conversion efficiency of 21.46% and, according to the manufacturer, are the world’s most efficient floating PV panels.

Vaulta, an Australian battery tech company, has developed its first dedicated residential battery. The small-scale energy storage system can purportedly operate for 4,000 cycles, with an 80% depth of discharge.

China Three Gorges Group has announced its latest PV module procurement results, while GCL-Si has revealed plans to raise CNY 5.8 billion ($812.9 million) via a private placement to finance its expansion.

The SeaVolt consortium says it will launch an offshore floating PV demonstrator off the Belgian port of Ostend. The main companies – Tractebel, DEME, Equans and Jan De Nul – say the anchored floating array will collect data for at least a year to scale up the tech.

The United Kingdom’s cumulative installed solar capacity reached 15.13 GW by the end of May, with 480 MW added between January and May 2023.