Installations

Solar-wind hybrid plants are rapidly becoming mainstream, and in booming markets like India and the US these hybrids are increasingly preferred to singular projects despite the higher installation cost. There is no shortage to the benefits of hybridisation, from a smoother power output profile to the cost saving of grid connection. But getting the balance right for new projects and retrofits remains a challenge. Blake Matich reports on this growing trend.

A team of Australian scientists have developed a new way to produce hydrogen using water from the atmosphere. They claim their new module can ensure stable performance and provide green hydrogen for remote areas.

The International Energy Agency says that the deployment of 600 million heat pumps by 2030 could cover 20% of the annual heating requirements of buildings throughout the world.

Sharp’s newest PV modules feature white backsheets and are made for the needs of design-oriented customers.

Tasmanian farmers are set to turn to solar PV to cut energy costs with the state-owned irrigation authority announcing plans to install solar arrays at up to 13 existing pump station sites around the state, offsetting electricity usage and generating surplus power to be fed back into the grid.

A pilot program across Sydney’s suburbs is seeking to prove a model its proponents hope will afford low income Australians access to solar at no upfront cost. The soon to be energised systems have been fitted on 64 disability homes and 90 community houses and will operate using a PPA model. “The poor don’t have the opportunity to put solar on their homes,” BlueCHP CEO, Charles Northcote tells pv magazine Australia. “They lose out because they have to pay all the grid charges… and this has not been addressed by the governments at all at this stage.”

Indian mining giant Adani’s Rugby Run Solar Farm has been ranked the best performing large-scale PV asset in the country for the month of August as Queensland’s solar farms continued to dominate the latest ratings tables.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is exploring different paths to 100% emissions-free electricity in the United States.

New South Wales is seeking 2,500 GWh of annual generation and 600 MW of long-duration storage for its first tender, part of realising its ambitious NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.

Australian gas company APA Group has signed a third offtake agreement for its 88 MW Mica Creek Solar Farm, currently under construction in Queensland’s mining hub.