Commercial & Industrial PV

Dutch research institute TNO has released a series of guidelines to reduce fire hazards in rooftop PV installations. The study follows a series of fire accidents that occurred between 2018 and 2020 in the Netherlands, for which the main causes were identified.

Have we reached a tipping point, from building the case with mining companies for deploying renewable energy … to where renewable energy is helping to build the case for mining?

“Unprecedented” was a term widely used in 2020, as the world grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic. The same word can be similarly applied to the plans and investments in production capacity announced by Chinese PV manufacturers right across the supply chain. But what shape are these expansions taking and what is driving this renewed confidence? Vincent Shaw reports from Shanghai.

Juwi Renewable Energy, the Brisbane-based subsidiary of German company juwi, will construct a solar and diesel hybrid solution for Iluka’s South Australian Jacinth-Ambrosia mine, where zircon – used in ceramics – is the primary output.

Woolworths has completed the expansion of its Adelaide distribution centre, including the site’s commercial-scale rooftop solar system which is set to supply 20% of the centre’s electricity needs.

With campuses throughout Victoria, La Trobe University this month further reduced its regional campus emissions by installing solar panels over more than 200 car-parking spaces — another milestone in its commitment to achieve net-zero by 2022!

West Australian smart solar glass developer ClearVue continues to explore new applications for its building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technology, offering up its solar glass windows to Murdoch University for a research project into near-zero energy transportable mining accommodation.

Lithium-ion batteries can not only improve self-consumption in commercial PV systems but are also able to efficiently perform peak shaving and price arbitrage, according to an international research group which has proposed a new strategy to calculate the best system configuration in terms of costs and revenue. The scientists specified, however, that the novel strategy may become effective only if storage system prices will drop under $250/kWh.

AGL will acquire Epho and Solgen Energy Group – propelling the energy giant to the jarring position of being both Australia’s largest climate polluter and its largest commercial solar provider.

Victoria’s new Solar For Business Program, announced yesterday, will halve the upfront cost of solar systems for 15,000 businesses over the coming three years, and is designed to help lift small enterprises out of pandemic-induced hard times.