New passive solar module cooling tech based on lightweight hydrogel
Researchers at Thailand’s Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology demonstrated a novel hydrogel that has high cooling effect on silicon PV panels.
New 13 MW New Zealand-based solar farm goes live near south Auckland
Aotearoa New Zealand utility-scale solar developer Kiwi Solar has announced its 13 MW Ardmore Solar Farm near South Auckland is now live, after a 5.5 month construction period.
NT solar centre data feeds ultra-short-term PV forecasting method
Scientists utilising data gathered at the Northern Territory’s Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre have created a novel probabilistic model for five-minutes ahead PV power forecasting. The method combines a convolutional neural network with bidirectional long short-term memory, attention mechanism, and natural gradient boosting.
Global solar installations could reach 1 TW next year
BloombergNEF reports the world installed nearly 600 GW of solar power in 2024, closely aligning with projections that annual global solar installations will surpass 1 TW within the next few years. Although projections for 2025 currently fall short of that pace, early forecasts often underestimate actual deployment.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s solar generation reaches all time high
New Zealand’s Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko has reported the country’s solar generation reached an all-time high in March of 128 MW but say that’s likely to be surpassed when three new large-scale farms come online during 2025.
Commercial segment surges as residential rooftop backs off
Australia’s solar rollout continues to reach new heights with a combined total of 4.7 GW of small- and large-scale PV installed across the country in 2024 but shifts in the rooftop market suggests diversification of services will be key for the nation’s installer community going forward.
Sungrow solar farms ignite Energy Safe Victoria’s interest due to fire risks
Sungrow Power Australia is addressing vegetation management issues, which prompted the closure of five of its solar farms in Victoria, following an inspection blitz of 18 solar farms conducted by Energy Safe Victoria.
Newcastle Coal to power port facility with solar
Renewables developer Lightsource BP is pushing ahead with the construction of the 450 MW Goulburn River Solar Farm in the New South Wales Upper Hunter region after striking a long-term offtake agreement with the operators of one of Australia’s major coal export terminals.
FRV adds 190 MW solar and battery project to portfolio
Global renewables developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures has boosted its Australian portfolio with the acquisition of a 190 MW hybrid solar and battery energy storage project being constructed in central Victoria.
Search for New England REZ network operator begins
Australia’s largest planned renewable energy zone has reached another milestone with the New South Wales government launching the search for a network operator to help deliver the New England REZ that is to provide at least 8 GW of new network capacity.
