A new report out of Europe has confirmed that solar PV is by far the cheapest form of bulk energy in many parts of the world, even with the addition […]
Category: Balance of System
Solar Choice blog articles about balance-of-system components for solar power systems–inverters, batteries, wiring, chargers, generators, etc. Balance-of-system (BoS) components are everything except the solar panels themselves.
A guide to community microgrids
carbonTRACK Community microgrids are a way for neighbourhoods, villages, towns and cities to meet their energy needs locally. Increasingly, community microgrids are being eyed as an option even in areas where […]
Sizing inverters to optimise solar panel system efficiency
The efficiency of the inverter drives the efficiency of a solar panel system because inverters convert Direct Current (DC) (as produced by the solar panels), into Alternating Current (AC) (as […]
Solar Analytics independent monitoring
Although there are now well over 1 million households in Australia with solar PV systems, only around 1% of them have any sort of performance monitoring equipment in place. This […]
Make it snappy – SMASH Solar aims to halve PV installation time
SMASH Solar have received US$1.5M of funding from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to further develop their snap-together PV mounting system. The product is designed to simplify mounting structures […]
QBotix: Robot-controlled tracking systems for ground-mounted solar systems
QBotix is a company offering a revolutionary approach to ground-mounted solar systems through its solar tracking technology. The QBotix Robotic Tracking System (RTS) employs intelligent, self-charging, track-mounted robots (“SolBots”) which adjust […]
Latronic Sunpower: Australian-made grid-connect and stand-alone inverters
Latronic Sunpower is a Queensland, Australia-based inverter manufacturer that operates globally. The company has been in business for over 27 years. The company makes inverters for residential, commercial and industrial […]
South Australia feed-in tariff recipients could lose benefit by installing energy storage
SA electricity distribution company South Australia Power Networks mentioned in a recently released ‘PV Process Update‘ (PDF) that anyone currently receiving one of the state’s solar feed-in tariffs (premium or transitional) […]
Renusol’s CS60: An innovative approach to solar panel mounting for flat surfaces
Renusol GmbH is a leading innovator in the field of solar module mounting. The company and its US subsidiary Renusol America design and manufacture solutions for both ground-mounted and rooftop […]
RESA’s VoltLogic to be used for limiting solar export in NT demo project
Renewable Energy Systems Australia (RESA) has announced that its STATCOM/inverter, VoltLogic, will be deployed at Palmerston Golf Club in Darwin, Northern Territory in a partnership with the club, a prominent local solar installation […]
Australia’s largest tracker-equipped rooftop solar array goes online in Victoria
Steel products manufacturer Hilton Manufacturing has commissioned a one-of-a-kind project on the roof of its factory in Dandenong South, outside Melbourne, Victoria. The commercial-scale solar array is unique in Australia […]
Energy storage options are growing (Part 1): What are the benefits?
Energy storage systems are a hot topic, and conditions are ripe for the solar PV/energy storage industry set to take off globally for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Part 1 of this […]
VoltLogic Power Equaliser: Managing solar, wind, battery power, and more
VoltLogic is a ‘4 quadrant’ energy management device developed and manufactured by Renewable Energy Solutions Australia Holdings Ltd. Going far beyond the simple function of an inverter in a small-scale […]
HST Solar: Innovative ground-mounted, dual-axis tracking systems for solar PV
HST Solar has brought a radically different installation approach to a range of ground-mounted PV platforms. HST systems are simple, foundation-less structures that deploy with only hand-tools and unskilled installer […]
ReneSola solar panels (& other products) in Australia
Renesola is one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the world, as well as one of the leading suppliers to Australia. The company produces a range of affordable ‘quasi-monocrystalline’, […]
Solar energy storage market to see rapid expansion: IMS Research
Speculation that the market for storage solutions for solar photovoltaics (PV) is poised for huge growth has been given some additional credence thanks to a recent report published by IMS […]
Japan will install the world’s largest battery bank to store solar energy
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) has announced that it will build the world’s largest battery at an electrical substation in the country’s northernmost island of Hokkaido. The […]
Supercapacitor graphene could revolutionise energy storage
It has yet to be commercialised, but graphene is a substance that promises to supercharge the field of energy storage. Graphene is a non-toxic, organic substance made purely of carbon […]
RPS: Innovative rooftop mounting solutions for solar panels and other applications
RPS is an Australian-owned company that specialises in roof clamps and roof mounting systems for a wide range of applications, including an innovative system for solar photovoltaic (PV) module arrays. […]
SolarEdge: Module-level DC-DC optimisers for solar PV systems
One of the trickiest parts of maximising efficiency in a solar installation is dealing with variations in power output among panels and strings of panels in the same system. SolarEdge is a company […]
SafetyinSolar – Solar panel isolation system
As with any industry, there are certain minimum standards that a solar system and its comprising components must meet in order to be installed to be considered safe. SafetyinSolar’s Solar […]
SolAmitec: Holistic solar system management software
SolAmitec (formerly SolGuard) is a comprehensive solar PV system performance monitoring and management solution that is compatible with a wide range of components that are already widely available and used […]
Fronius Inverter Promotion: 20-year Warranty Available for Half Price
Fronius, one of the world’s leading solar inverter manufacturers, has announced a special promotion for the company’s 20th anniversary as an electronics manufacturer. Under the promotion, customers are eligible for a […]
Nedap’s PowerRouter: Smart inverters for on- and off-grid solar PV systems
The PowerRouter is an innovative inverter/energy management system that broadens the range of options for using power from small-scale electricity generators such as solar PV systems, giving solar- and wind-powered […]
Fronius Inverters in Australia: Inverters for all applications
Fronius is an international company with a 65 year history in the manufacture of welding equipment and nearly two decades of experience with solar inverters and other devices for monitoring […]
Solar power grid price parity through BoS cost reductions
In a previous Solar choice blog entry, we discussed the meaning of grid price parity (or grid parity) and why it is such an important goal in the solar power […]
