French gas supplier enters solar business
France’s Butagaz has become the largest shareholder of French rooftop PV installers Soltea and Solewa.
Australian solar executive highlights importance of software, data
Anson Zhang, the CEO of Australian solar distributor One Stop Warehouse, entered the retail electricity market in 2020 by launching Discover Energy. The move confused many people, but he said the decision was driven by an interest in data.
Solar 101: The basics of net metering for your solar project
The concept of net metering is important to understand, as it affects how long your solar project takes to pay for itself, and how your contractor will design your project. Here’s what you need to know.
Growing interest for PV arrays with eastern and western orientation in Germany
A report from Fraunhofer ISE reveals that the share of PV systems with southern orientation has decreased from 61% in 2000 to 42% in 2019. It also highlights that solar rooftop installations with a tilted angle lower than 20 degrees have increased from just 5% in 2000 to 24% in 2019.
Concrete battery for applications in buildings, rooftop PV
A prototype of a cement-based battery has been developed in Sweden for potential applications in buildings. Its creators claim it could become a solution to store electricity from rooftop PV and they do not exclude that it could also be used for the storage of large-scale renewables.
IEA calls for annual additions of solar PV to reach 630 GW by 2030
According to the International Energy Agency, most of the global reductions in CO2 emissions between now and 2030 would come from technologies available today. In a recent report, the agency sets what it described as a “cost-effective and economically productive” pathway resulting in an energy economy “dominated by renewables like solar and wind.”
Solar 101: What’s my solar system going to cost?
Think of your solar system as a custom retrofit. That means the list of unique variables and components can be long, and hardware requirements may result in significant pricing differences.
Role of distributed solar at issue in California’s net metering update
Industry groups focus on solar-plus-storage, or preserving the distributed solar industry, while a state agency aims to compensate rooftop solar at avoided costs and add a grid service charge.
Rooftop CPV-thermal tech to produce electricity and freshwater
It’s claimed the decentralized desalination system can deliver a levelized cost for desalinated water of US$0.7-4.3/m3, depending on PV costs and electricity prices. It was built with several concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV-T) collectors, a hot water tank, a V-MEMD module, a seawater feed tank, and a distillate tank.
Switzerland allocates $521 million for solar rebates in 2021
The Swiss federal government has also decided to improve the bureaucratic procedures for the installation of solar PV systems.
