Month: June 2024

SMA has won The smarter E Award for its Sunny Central Flex platform, a modular system solution for large-scale converter systems, available up to 7.4 MW. Despite its high performance, it uses silicon carbide transistors, achieving efficiencies up to 99.2% and 99.5% as a DC-coupled solution. The award recognized the platform’s flexible adaptability. The same platform can be configured for PV island systems, AC-coupled storage systems, DC-coupled PV-plus storage hybrid power plants, and hydrogen electrolyzers. The 40-foot skidtainer construction includes a medium-voltage transformer, switchgear, DC-AC inverter stages, and DC/DC converter…

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Enormous quantities of raw materials, such as copper and aluminum cables, are required for energy system conversion when connecting renewable generators to the grid. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE sees a huge potential for savings with higher system voltages and is planning its first pilot PV power plants with this technology. June 19, 2024 Edgar Meza In an effort to lower demand for raw materials amid the continued expansion of photovoltaics, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is looking at a promising approach to move…

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Obviously, the fact that it is the largest regional transmission organisation (RTO) in the US by geography and one of the largest independent system operators (ISO), covering 15 states stretching from Louisiana up to Canada, is a helping factor for the increased activity in solar PV. MISO covers nearly 75,000 miles of high-voltage transmission and has 191GW of installed generation capacity, as of December 2023, according to MISO’s website. Even if solar PV is not necessarily the dominating renewable energy across the region in terms of current installed capacity, with…

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African poverty is exacerbated by energy poverty, with 600 million people lacking access to electricity. Solar power offers a solution, as evidenced by South Africa’s increased solar capacity and reduced blackouts. The growth of decentralized renewable energy (DRE) is creating jobs and improving lives. However, legacy utilities face challenges, and extending grids remains crucial for broader electrification. The solar revolution in Africa could transform economies and provide global lessons. Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that…

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The LREZ will allow customers to share the benefits of renewable energy, especially those who haven’t been able to invest in solar power, with support from Energy Queensland, the state-owned distribution system operator (DNO), and its local network-connected battery energy storage units. Steven Miles, premier for the Queensland government, allocated AUS$40 million (US$26 million) in the State Budget to support the pilot project, with hopes it would “put Sunshine Coast rooftops at the centre of the renewable energy transition”, a government paper read. The LREZ will enable households with rooftop…

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People walk among solar panels installed on the roof of a museum in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei) Germany aims to cover at least 80 percent of its gross electricity consumption with renewable energy by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, five years earlier than the European Union as a whole. BERLIN, June 18 (Xinhua) — Following last year’s boom in Germany’s solar market, newly installed photovoltaic capacity is expected to grow by a double-digit percentage in 2024, the country’s Solar Association (BSW) said on Tuesday.…

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New research has found that several countries could meet all their energy needs from solar panel systems floating on lakes. Climate, water and energy environmental scientists R. Iestyn Woolway and Alona Armstrong analysed how much energy could be produced by floating solar panels on just 10% of the water surface of one million bodies of water globally. They found that Ethiopia and Rwanda could generate more energy than their current national energy need from the floating energy systems alone. How do floating solar panels work? Also known as floating photovoltaic…

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