Technology

Zhengrong Shi and his company, Suntech, are true pioneers of the Chinese solar industry. While Suntech burned bright, and eventually flamed out, under Shi’s leadership, the company’s solar ecosystem and innovation persist as China’s PV market surges past 100 GW(AC) today.

The Australian Energy Market Commission says the regulatory process for new transmission network projects must be overhauled to strengthen social licence and speed up the multi-billion-dollar expansion of the grid that is critical to the transition from coal to renewables.

Chinese solar module maker Risen Energy has launched two new n-type panels into the Australian market, targeting both the rooftop and large-scale PV markets.

Local government in the Dutch province of North Brabant will deploy a 500-metre-long solar array on a bike track and test its performance over a five-year period. The PV system will be integrated into the asphalt top layer and will consist of 600 solar panels of an unspecified type.

Public housing tenants in the outback town of Alice Springs are set to share in the benefits of renewable energy with the Northern Territory government launching a rooftop PV and battery energy storage trial that will help inform the planning of future public housing builds and management of solar power on current stock.

The Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC) raised the issue of ultraviolet-induced degradation of the trending technology in its PV Module Index 2022.

An international research team has presented all possible system designs and applications for photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) technology. Their review includes conventional PV-T collectors, air-based systems, liquid-based installations, water-based collectors, refrigerant-based systems, heat-pipe-based technologies, dual air-water systems, building-integrated PVT arrays, and concentrated PVT collectors.

Mauritian researchers have developed a solar tracker prototype that increases current by around 37%. The device uses a simplified and mechanical tracking system.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown that while renewable generation in Australia has increased significantly year on year, the country’s progress towards net zero is stymied by the failure to reduce consumption.

While many forecasting tools have been developed to improve forecasts of renewable generation, their accuracy is limited by the inherent predictability of the data used – that is, how predictable the renewable resource is in different regions and times of the year. University of Adelaide researcher Sahand Karimi explains why predictability matters and how considering it can save consumers and investors millions of dollars.