Installations

Short- and long-term impacts of the pandemic on electricity markets are still unclear.

One of the largest solar projects scheduled to break ground this year has moved into the construction phase mostly unaffected by Covid-19 disruption.

France’s Sunbooster has developed a technology to cool down solar modules when their ambient temperature exceeds 25 C. The solution features a set of pipes that spread a thin film of water onto the glass surface of the panels in rooftop PV systems and ground-mounted plants. The cooling systems collect the water from rainwater tanks and then recycle, filter and store it again. The company claims the technology can facilitate an annual increase in power generation of between 8% and 12%.

Before Growatt won the Top Brand PV Seal award, back when “quarantine” was a foreign concept and foreign lands familiar, pv magazine took its annual China Road Trip to Shenzen to visit Growatt and learn about the company supplying solutions to 10% of Australian residential PV installs.

With the Australian solar industry fast heading towards a significant downturn, the Clean Energy Council has reported that it will be “unlikely and difficult” for new rooftop solar installations to be classified as an essential service if restrictions are tightened. Despite the apparent gloom, industry experts advise that there are opportunities as householders look to invest in their homes during the Covid-19 crisis.

Since 2015, Kidston Clean Energy Hub has inspired renewable developers with the potential for hybrid projects. Its envisaged re-use of old gold mining pits for pumped-hydro storage that would concentrate the benefits of colocated solar and wind resources hit a snag in 2019, but today Genex Power executives are celebrating a milestone deal that will enable more than their own ambitions…

While the full extent of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemics on the renewable energy market is yet to reveal itself, Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy predicts new solar and wind projects will grind to a halt this year and experience a ripple effect in the years beyond as currencies across the globe continue to fall against the US dollar.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has published its first knowledge sharing report under its landmark virtual power plant (VPP) demonstrations program, which is intended to provide insights into the scalability and network services potential of VPPs. The report details how the South Australia-based Tesla-Energy Locals VPP responded to price signals and frequency level and helps further understand the benefits consumers can have from participating in VPPs.

Researchers in Brazil have suggested using solar radiation databases and simulator software to scale PV-diesel mini-grid generators. The profiles of PV generation and mini-grid load demand are critical to finding the right balance, according to the academics.

After decades of continual blackouts and bushfires the Murrays decided enough was enough. They installed Redflow batteries to team up with their solar installation to take their farm off-grid and independent.