Waste heat from PV panels used to generate residential hot water
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.
Energy ministers move to ensure orderly phase-out of coal
The New South Wales government has released the design of a proposed new plan that would give Australia’s energy ministers the power to direct coal-fired and other generators to continue operations if the capacity is deemed necessary to maintain grid reliability and security.
Fortescue plugs in electric excavator as lineup of zero emission mining equipment expands
Australia’s first electric excavator has been deployed at a mine site in Western Australia’s Pilbara while a trial of what is claimed to be the world’s largest battery-electric underground mining truck continues in the state’s Goldfields region.
Enphase unveils new three-phase inverters
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.
Victoria plans gas ban as part of roadmap to renewables
Just days after a regulation to prevent new gas network connections to buildings in the Australian Capital Territory came into effect, the Victorian government has released updated plans designed to end that state’s reliance on fossil gas.
Florence machine resumes tunnelling on Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project
Tunnelling has restarted on a troubled section of the largest renewable energy project under construction in Australia after the New South Wales government issued new environmental approvals to Snowy Hydro.
Bifacial PV on rooftops can provide energy yield gains of up to 22.6%
Scientists in Australia have combined Monte Carlo Ray Trace (MCRT) techniques and electrical modelling to assess the potential energy gains of bifacial rooftop PV systems compared to monofacial arrays. They found that rooftop reflectivity is a key factor in increasing a bifacial PV system performance, and that system and module design should also be carefully considered.
Canadian Solar launches new grid-scale battery
Canadian Solar says its new SolBank 3.0 grid-scale battery supports up to 2.35 MW/5 MWh of grid-scale renewable energy storage and dispatch.
Black Summer wildfires impaired solar output, caused financial losses up to $29 million, researchers find
Smoke from wildfires significantly effects solar output, researchers from UNSW have found. Specifically, Australia’s Black Summer in 2019 – 2020 caused energy losses from residential and utility PV systems estimated between 175 to 35 GWh, equating to a worst-case financial loss of around $6.1 to $29 million.
New tool to detect faults in inverters released by PI Berlin
PI Berlin has developed a new tool to detect problems in inverters such as defective printed circuit boards, faulty switching algorithms, and deficiencies in components and sensors.
