New Concentrated Solar PV Mini-Module Efficiency Record Set
Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE has broken its own record for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems. Announced on Tuesday, the Fraunhofer ISE team state they achieved a confirmed world record of 43.4 percent for a mini-module consisting of four-junction solar cells. “This value is a new milestone in the history of […]
More Solar Airports: Antigua
The official inauguration of a 3MWp solar power plant at V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua will occur later today. Named sun2live, the solar installation incorporates more than 12,000 solar power panels and will generate up to 4,645 MWh of clean electricity annually. Power generated by the facility will cover the energy consumption of the newly-constructed passenger […]
SunEdison Announces 2.7MW Of Solar PPAs
SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) has announced the signing of two 20-year power purchase agreements (solar PPA’s) with Southern California Edison for 2.7 megawatts DC of solar. Southern California Edison has been investigating how clean energy resources could delay or eliminate the construction of a new gas power plant in Orange County. “Solar is a great […]
Intel’s Massive Solar Carport
Large enough to park nearly 3,000 vehicles, Intel’s solar carport installation is said to the largest private project of its kind in the USA. Constructed at its Folsom, California campus, the new 6.5 megawatt addition brings total on-site solar energy generation at the campus to 8.7 MW; enough to provide half of the campus’s energy […]
Australia’s First Tesla Powerwall Competition Announced
There’s now another very good reason for Australians to go solar with Energy Matters’ parent company, SunEdison. A lucky Australian household* will be the recipient of a fully installed Tesla Powerwall home battery system, or a major cash prize. The Powerwall prize package also includes supply and installation of top quality components necessary to connect […]
U.S. Solar Installations In 2015 Set New Record
7,286 megawatts of solar PV was installed in the USA in 2015 – that’s nearly 50% more than Australia’s entire solar panel capacity. The results, announced by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), represent the largest annual total ever; 17% above 2014. The stunning figures were released ahead of the March 9 […]
Ocean Cleanup – Solar Powered SeaVax
The full size, semi-autonomous wind and solar powered version of this model may be able to scoop up 22,400 tons of plastic trash from the ocean each year. Plastic is everywhere in our oceans, but it becomes particularly concentrated in a number of locations where currents swirl, called gyres. One of these is the North […]
Enphase Unveils New AC Battery Design
————UPDATE – New design Enphase AC Battery Systems now available for pre-order from Energy Matters!———— Enphase has provided a first look at its updated AC Battery enclosure; a design it says is “clean, modern and unpretentious”. The company made the changes to aesthetics after consulting installers and home owners around the world. “.. the AC […]
30,000 Australian Solar + Storage Households By 2018
Around 30,000 Australian households will have solar + battery systems by 2018 says IHS Energy Storage Intelligence Service. Describing it as “explosive growth”, the research firm expects Australia’s battery storage market to increase more than ten-fold this year; growing from fewer than 500 installations in 2015 to more than 5,000 in 2016. If this level […]
Solar Powered Bins Trial In Sydney
Canada Bay in the Inner West of Sydney is now home to six solar powered Bigbelly garbage bins. We first mentioned Bigbelly bins back in 2009 and it seems the company has been going from strength to strength since then. Bigbelly features a solar powered compacting system that enables it handle to 5 times the […]