Residential PV

The rooftop solar juggernaut shows no signs of slowing in Australia with an unprecedented contribution from household PV systems delivering a string of new records in the National Electricity Market to close out 2023.

Australian startup NRN is rolling out its proposition to fit households with solar and batteries at no cost to consumers. Announcing its partnership with retailer Diamond Energy and the completion of a $13.5 million (USD 9.18 million) capital raise, the company believes it’s found the trick to successfully deploying free household renewables by focussing on retailer value. Pv magazine Australia spoke to NRN and experts about how exactly the model works and where the value comes from.

Western Australia utility Western Power has commenced the rollout of a $28 million (USD 19 million) works package to manage the capacity of key distribution feeders in the state’s main electricity network and unlock new renewable energy generation opportunities.

The latest estimates of electricity generation costs in Australia reveal that solar and wind power remain the cheapest form of energy, even after the expense of integrating them into the grid is factored in.

New South Wales electricity distributor Endeavour Energy has flicked the switch on the state’s first community microgrid with the rooftop solar and battery energy storage system helping to provide power certainty for the South Coast communities of Bawley Point and Kioloa.

Scientists in Czechia have proposed to use parallel inverters in PV systems to not only reduce instability, but also to increase power yield. The proposed approach reportedly results in higher maximum power point tracking (MPPT) performance.

Smart metering services provider Intellihub is seeking to develop digital infrastructure that will enable the orchestration of more than 150,000 otherwise scattered consumer energy generation and storage devices, helping to create more than 510 MW of flexible energy demand.

Scientists in the United States has developed a new photovoltaic-thermal system design that utilises parallel water pipes as a cooling system to reduce the operating temperature of photovoltaic panels. The waste heat generated by this process is then used to generate domestic hot water.

Australia’s independent energy markets and power systems operator has warned urgent investment in generation, firming and transmission is needed with forecasts showing the National Electricity Market needs to almost triple its installed capacity in less than 30 years.

Enphase has released 208 V three-phase inverters for the small commercial market. The advancing hardware comes with a specialised support team and tailored design tools.