Indian scientists have created a hybrid power exploitability index to identify optimal locations for constructing new solar and wind hybrid power plants. They have evaluated retrofitting existing standalone plants and have discovered that all but one of the eight plants could be hybridized, with up to a 400% annual increase in power output.

Researchers from Massey University in New Zealand have developed a robotic lawn mower with three 50 W solar panels and a 20 Ah lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) battery. Two of the PV panels can be retracted and stacked inside the robot. They slide out when it needs to recharge its batteries.

Solis has released a new line of hybrid inverters in five different power output versions, ranging from 3 kW to 8 kW. The hybrid inverters can be used with either lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries, with a maximum charging and discharging current of 190 A.

TrendForce has ranked the top six module manufacturers by shipment volume in 2022, with Longi topping the list, followed by Trina Solar and JinkoSolar. JA Solar, Canadian Solar, and Risen Energy rounded out the top six, in a year dominated by large-format modules.

Sarcos has designed a robotic PV construction solution that delivers, detects, lifts, and places PV modules in large-scale solar plants. It has recently field tested and validated the prototype solution in a pilot project funded by the US Department of Energy.

Hungary’s Platio has inaugurated a solar footpath in the Dutch city of Groningen. The installation consists of 2,544 monocrystalline Patio solar pavers with a 21.8% efficiency rating. It will generate 55,000 kWh of electricity per year and can purportedly withstand a pressure of 2 tons without microcracks.

The South African government is looking for independent power producers to build and operate floating or ground-mounted PV projects at selected government waterworks infrastructure or damns. The projects should be operational for 20 years.

Global renewable capacity increased by 295 GW last year, bringing the world to a cumulative installed capacity of 3,372 GW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

An international group of researchers has calculated the potential for floating solar across the world. The results show a generation potential of 9,434 TWh per year across 114,555 global reservoirs, with 30% of their area covered. The United States leads with 1,911 TWh per year of potential, followed by China at 1,107 TWh per year and Brazil at 865 TWh per year.

Fraunhofer ISE has presented the results of retrofit heat pump installations in multi-family homes in Germany. One demonstrator featured rooftop solar PV and a multi-source heat pump developed in partnership with Viessmann. It uses air and geothermal as heat sources.