Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

Normal poly panels reaching 19.5% efficiency. That's 300Wp from a standard size panel.

Hanwha Q Cells sets 19.5% efficiency record for standard 301W multicrystalline module

Korean solar module producer Hanwha Q Cells has raised the bar for multicrystalline module efficiencies, confirming this week that a standard 300-watt prototype has delivered 19.5% conversion efficiency.

The world-record is based on a prototype module made with high-efficiency multicrystalline Q.AMTUM solar cells with four busbars, and was produced at the firm’s Center for Technology Innovation and Quality in Thalheim, Germany.

Despite being a prototype module at this stage, the pilot line replicated the exact production processes required to mass-produce the module. The results were independently verified by Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE CalLab, which confirmed the 19.5% efficiency in relation to the aperture area (of 1,670 x 1,000 mm2) and a power output of 301W using 60 cells.

Mart.

Martyn1981

Morgan Stanley give their opinion on PV and battery storage in Australia.

Morgan Stanley counters scepticism of Aussie solar-plus-battery market

Morgan Stanley has predicted a boom in solar-plus-storage in Australia, calling PV a direct substitute for grid power and warning investors that the incumbent energy industry has been slow to react to trends.

The report’s authors modelled a number of scenarios and predicted that in the highest case scenario, a million Australian households could have installed battery storage systems by 2020, equal to about 6GWh.

Mart.

Martyn1981

Not sure where to stick this, so to speak, but Tesla looking to be a one-stop shop for PV, batts (production and supply) and cars/car charging in the US:-

Musk's Tesla makes a bid for Musk's SolarCity energy company

Elon Musk’s Tesla electric car company has made an offer to buy Musk’s solar power company, SolarCity, for as much as $2.8bn in stock in an attempt to make a one-stop-shop for cleaner energy.

If the deal goes through, SolarCity will adopt the Tesla brand and sell its solar panels alongside Tesla’s PowerWall home batteries to store electricity created during the day for when it is needed at night.

Mart.

tunnel

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-22/solar-power-to-grow-sixfold-as-sun-becoming-cheapest-resource?cmpid=twtr1


Say no more!!

Martyn1981

tunnel wrote: »

Say no more!!

It'll never catch on. It doesn't generate at night, don't you know? :laugh:

Mart.

tunnel

Martyn1981 wrote: »

It'll never catch on. It doesn't generate at night, don't you know? :laugh:

Mart.

Come on now, who are you and what you done with Mart?

Martyn1981

Now here's an interesting solution to the battery price problem.

You don't want to buy a battery till prices drop, but prices won't drop till you (or someone else) buys a battery. So what do you do?

Solar battery storage: bulk-buy promises Australians lower prices sooner

Australia’s first bulk-buy program for solar battery storage has launched, with more than 1,000 people in Newcastle expressing interest and more than 500 attending a sign-up event on Thursday night to buy home battery systems. From Friday, the program is being opened to people all around Australia.

“The problem is how to scale up the solar storage industry faster so as to reduce the costs for those companies,” he said. “If each company has got to spend $1,000 acquiring a customer, that’s $1,000 they’re going to put on top of the price.

“Without a movement like SunCrowd, many people in the community will want to wait. What SunCrowd is about is pulling that purchasing decision forward by getting tomorrow’s prices today.”

Mart.

EricMears

Another interesting solution could be for governments worldwide to band together and announce schemes to reward investors who buy batteries at today's prices ?

On past experience, that might drop prices dramatically in two or three years.

Martyn1981

Wowza, France may shoot past us in PV. Whilst our 20GWh by 2022 target may be reduced to 13GWh, France is aiming higher:-

France rolls out solar tenders for 20 GW by 2023

The French environment and energy minister Segolene Royal announced this week the introduction of a number of new solar tenders in France for the development of various PV applications.

Chiefly, France is aiming to triple its solar PV capacity to 20 GW by 2023, with the tenders expected to hit incremental goals of 10.2 GW by 2018, and between 18.2 to 20.2 GW by 2023.

The plans were first announced by the Conseil Superieur de L’Energie (CSE) in April, which outlined how France will embrace further its use of solar and wind energy. However, the CSE confirmed that there will be no nuclear plant closures before 2019, but affirmed that nuclear’s share of the energy mix will fall from 75% currently to 50% by 2025.

Mart.

Alan_Brown

British Gas offering free electricity at the weekends:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36674221

If someone had a decent sized solar array, economy 7, free electricity one day per week and added a powerwall or other battery technology to the mix, you have to wonder if it's starting to look affordable?