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.
Reconfigurable series-parallel photovoltaic modules with high shading tolerance
TU Deflt researchers made a first attempt to validate reconfigurable solar modules using prototypes in outdoor tests. The panels consist of two or more blocks of solar cells that are connected to a switching matrix and reportedly achieve a 10.2% higher energy yield than conventional shade-resilient modules under partial shading conditions.
$4 billion expected from sale of Naturgy’s 1.3 GW portfolio-holder GPG Australia
Major Australian renewable energy portfolio holder Global Power Generation Australia, jointly owned by Spain’s Naturgy and an arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority, is reportedly going up for auction early next year.
Vast scores EDF support for concentrated solar power technology
Australian solar thermal specialist Vast Renewables will look to accelerate the development of its concentrated solar power technology after securing a $16.37 million (€10 million) capital commitment from French energy giant EDF Renewables.
Acciona presses go on 380 MW Queensland solar farm
Construction of the 380 MW Aldoga Solar Farm being developed near Gladstone on the central Queensland coast is to commence in the first quarter of 2024 with energy generated at the facility to go towards powering the state’s largest green hydrogen project.
BP to take full control of Lightsource BP
Energy giant BP announced today it would take full ownership of solar and wind energy developer Lightsource BP once a deal – pertaining to the purchase of the remaining renewables company’s shares BP does not own – goes through next year.
Solar productivity negatively impacted by emissions and aerosols, study finds
A study by engineers at UNSW, published in the Renewable Energy journal, shows that aerosols and greenhouse gas emissions reduce the productivity of photovoltaic installations and that this differs according to the global region.
Renewables helping China to halve power prices compared to Australia, Europe
Wood Mackenzie says in a new report that China could install 230 GW of PV and wind capacity and export more than 200 GW of solar panels in 2023. Unlike Europe and United States, the country is avoiding the high curtailment of PV and wind.
Performance parameters for residential heat pumps linked to PV, storage
German researchers measured a PV-powered heat pump with battery storage in a single-family home in Freiburg, Germany, for a period of a year. It features smart grid-ready tech that adjusts operations based on the grid.
