Germany and renewable energy in 2012

Germany and renewable energy - Rear Vision - ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Today, just over 20 per cent of Germany’s electricity comes from renewable sources–wind, solar, biomass, et cetera–and some people are hoping to increase that to 100 per cent by 2030.

Read here how this was achieved and is planned to develop further, along with some fascinating details and stories from experience, e.g. how much fluctuating energy can a grid take?

Technical Note – Bypass Diode Effects in Shaded Conditions

Bypass diodes are a standard addition to any crystalline PV module. The bypass diodes’ function 
is to eliminate the hot-spot phenomena which can damage PV cells and even cause fire if the 
light hitting the surface of the PV cells in a module is not uniform. The bypass diodes are usually 
placed on sub-strings of the PV module, one diode per up to 20 PV cells. This configuration 
eliminates the creation of hot-spots and enables the PV modules to operate with high reliability 
throughout their lifetime.
In addition to effectively fulfilling this function, many people believe the bypass diodes are also 
effective in reducing power loss due to shading in PV installations. This is far from the truth. In 
this document we will analyze several everyday scenarios and show ...


Read it all in this very good pdf

Solar Pathfinder - The coolest tool for solar panel installers

Solar Pathfinder - How the Pathfinder Works

Zero-cost solar: Will this be Gillard's election secret weapon? - reneweconomy.com.au : Renew Economy

Zero-cost solar: Will this be Gillard's election secret weapon? - reneweconomy.com.au : Renew Economy

By Giles Parkinson on 2 April 2012

Australian solar installers are racing to become the first companies to offer long-term leasing arrangements that will allow householders to install large rooftop solar installations at zero up-front cost and hedge against rising electricity prices.

The move is being hailed as a potential game changer in the industry, whose growth has been arrested by sudden changes to feed-in-tariffs, but it could also have a big impact on established energy utilities, both generators and retailers, and has the potential of changing the political rhetoric as the next federal poll is fought on cost-of-living issues, mostly retail electricity prices.
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