As a result of the huge uptake of grid-connected PV systems in South Australia, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is projecting significant system security risks to the South Australian electricity supply network. As a result, the South Australian Government will be implementing some solar regulations, known as Regulatory Changes for Smarter Homes, from 28th […]
Category: Technical Articles
To maintain our position as the preferred knowledge network for the industry and commerce of renewable energy innovation & technology, GSES communicates factual, up-to-date and evidence based information for publication. These include information on the issues surrounding DC circuit breakers, earthing fundamentals, how to sell solar, and information on isolator enclosures.
All About High Efficiency Solar Cells: PERC and Half Cut
Photovoltaic technology has been making steady improvements since the first major silicon cell created by Bell Labs in 1954. As research and development continue to push solar cell technology forward (Figure 1), we often see a lag in the adoption of these advancements in commercial applications. Today, high efficiency solar cells that were once only […]
Condition Based Maintenance for Solar PV Systems
Since the advent of solar PV systems in Australia in the early 2010s, there has been a growing number of installations of small residential as well as commercial, industrial and utility scale PV systems. However, as with any piece of equipment, the likelihood of component failure increases as the PV system ages, and solar maintenance […]
Arc Flash: Dangers and Prevention
An arc fault is the electrical discharge that occurs between phase to phase or phase to neutral conductors through high impedance plasma discharge, resulting in arc flash. There are several causes of arc flash including, mechanical breakdown, current overload, and human-error (accidental contact with the live wire or energised busbar). An Arc flash is extremely […]
Power at Play: The Importance of Power Rating in Battery Selection
Solar installers/designers are experiencing an increase in battery enquiries in recent months as the summer bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic brings energy autonomy to the forefront of homeowners’ minds. Even though sizing a battery energy storage system for a residential site appears to be simple on the surface, there is more to selecting a battery […]
PVsyst vs. Helioscope: Solar PV Energy Simulation Software Compared
Introduction In this article, we will be comparing the two most widely used and industry standard photovoltaic simulation software packages in the Australian solar industry, PVsyst vs. Helioscope. The increased requirement for system modelling has seen the rise of simulation tools such as PVSyst, Helioscope, System Advisory Model (SAM), HOMER Pro and packages delivered by […]
Solar System Operation and Maintenance In Australia
Solar System Operation and Maintenance (O&M) is a topic of growing importance in Australia. Australia has been steadily installing rooftop and utility scale PV systems since the early 2010s. Issues will begin to occur as systems age, and as the number of installations has risen exponentially over time so too will the number of issues. […]
Financial Impacts of Voltage Control Inverter Response Modes
Photovoltaic (PV) power systems have been deployed in record numbers across the globe. Leading the charge is one of the sunniest countries in the world, Australia. From insignificant levels in the beginning of the 21st century, there is now over 12.9 GW of combined capacity across Australia. Majority of this installed capacity are small scale grid-connected distributed […]
Three Phase Fault Calculations in AC Systems and the Contribution from PV Grid-connected Inverters
Introduction There are two major problems that can occur in an electrical system – open circuits and short circuits. Of the two, the latter has more detrimental effects on the system. A short circuit fault is an abnormal or unintended connection of live elements touching each other or to earth. Typically, short circuit faults are […]
Variations in Modelled and Actual Site Energy Generation
Executive summary As Solar PV systems become more mainstream and bankable, customers are pushing for performance security guarantees and this creates pressure on contractors to offer the best results. Unfortunately, this will mean someone will be financially affected if they take the estimate too far and the system cannot meet this target. The following case […]