Commercial & Industrial PV

In many parts of the world, project developers and owners are increasingly looking to floating PV as the next long-term growth market in utility-scale solar. Gian Schelling, global business development manager for Hitachi Energy, says that PV-on-water can rise above the current challenges it faces by drawing on the lessons learned from offshore wind development.

Sydney-based solar company Solaray Energy says its inquiries have doubled since the federal election, rebounding back to the record demand seen in 2020 ad 2021. Moreover, the company’s director and co-founder Jonathan Fisk says interest in batteries is “making solar fly,” with half of the potential new customers looking to add storage.

Selected projects will be awarded a fixed rate under a 20-year contract under the country’s renewable energy certificate (REC) scheme and will sell electricity to local power distributors.

Australia’s uptake of rooftop solar is one of the highest in the world with more than 30% of free-standing households across the nation now fitted with a PV system but the Clean Energy Regulator has revealed a “steep decline” in the number of installations in early 2022 with deteriorating economics playing a major part.

Solar installers and resellers can now access up to $250,000 on interest-free terms to increase their stocks of Australian-made solar panels after PV module manufacturer Tindo Solar teamed with business financer Moula Pay.

Scientists in the United States have developed a new model to allow utilities to use grid-forming inverters in order to better manage renewable energy intermittency. They describe the inverter main circuit representation, the droop control, and the fault current limiting function.

Swiss module manufacturer Megasol has unveiled a novel rooftop PV system in two variants — full-black and translucent. The installation consists of vertical supports, a ridge profile, and solar modules.

Penfolds owner Treasure Wine Estates will install more than 9,500 solar panels across its Barossa and Karadoc wineries as the company seeks to become 100% renewable by 2024. To achieve that goal the company says it is preparing to install 29,000 solar panels across its vineyards worldwide, while also purchasing offsite renewables.

The International Renewable Energy Agency’s latest annual report on the progress towards the United Nation’s sustainable development goal seven estimates 670 million people will still lack electricity in 2030, and more than 2 billion will be reliant on unhealthy, polluting cooking methods.

With architects and construction companies across the world showing an increasing interest in building integrated PV, one Australian company has outlined plans to clad an eight-storey building being constructed in West Melbourne with a “solar skin” that will generate almost all of the building’s base power.