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Solar modules are evaluated in the Renewable Energy Test Center annual PV Module Index.
To achieve net zero energy status, solar-powered buildings should not exceed 10 floors
Researchers in Canada have found that nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) with on-site solar energy generation should not exceed an energy use intensity (EUI) of 50 kWh/m2a, which they said corresponds to a maximum of 10 floors. They also ascertained that the maximum permitted EUI by net-zero energy status is 17–28 kWh/m2a.
Offshore floating PV demonstrator to go online in North Sea
The SeaVolt consortium says it will launch an offshore floating PV demonstrator off the Belgian port of Ostend. The main companies – Tractebel, DEME, Equans and Jan De Nul – say the anchored floating array will collect data for at least a year to scale up the tech.
New grid-forming inverter concept based on bee colony algorithm
Scientists in China have proposed to use an algorithm that simulates the behaviour of foraging bees to shape a new grid-forming inverter design. The approach is designed for both grid-connected and islanded inverters.
Australia invests $50 million to expand clean energy supply chains
The Australian government has committed $50 million to support the development and diversification of clean energy supply chains in the Indo-Pacific as it seeks to increase manufacturing opportunities and enhance energy security in the region.
European warehouses store 40 GW of unsold solar panels
Rystad Energy says that about €7 billion ($7.8 billion) of solar panels are now being stored in Europe, but European developers continued to buy solar modules from China throughout the first half of this year.
GoodWe unveils new inverters for C&I applications
China-based GoodWe has developed two new solutions – the ETC 100 kW hybrid inverter and the BTC 100 kW retrofit battery inverter – for commercial and industrial solar applications.
APVI to plot path for Australian solar manufacturing industry
The Australian government has launched a new study that will explore opportunities for onshore manufacturing of solar panels and components in a bid to strengthen solar supply chains and better support the country’s energy transformation.
NREL develops perovskite solar cells with 93% bifaciality
A research team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has made highly bifacial perovskite cells with a front-side efficiency of 23%.
St Baker to build 1.2 GWh battery plant in Philippines
The founder and deputy chair of Australian-based investment firm St Baker Energy Innovation Fund plans to establish a lithium-ion phosphate battery manufacturing plant in the Philippines with annual production capacity of 1.2 GWh by the end of the decade.
