From pv magazine Australia
Solar and battery storage provider Smart Commercial Energy, formerly Smart Commercial Solar, has teamed with Over Easy Solar to launch the Norwegian company’s prefabricated vertical rooftop solar system into the Australian market.
Over Easy has developed a vertically oriented rooftop solar system featuring pre-assembled and pre-racked bifacial panels that sit directly on the roof surface, removing the need for traditional tilt frames for installation.
The vertical photovoltaic (VPV) unit has been designed for buildings where traditional rooftop solar is not feasible due to load-bearing limits or design constraints, adding only 12 kilograms per square metre. The units come in two sizes: one measuring 1,600 mm x 1,500 mm x 345 mm and weighing 26 kg, and one measuring 1,600 mm x 1,500 mm x 265 mm and weighing 25 kg. Each unit has an output of 200 W.
Sydney-headquartered Smart said the prefabricated and pre-assembled format simplifies installation, reduces on-site work, and minimises interaction with the roof structure, opening new possibilities for commercial buildings where conventional rooftop solar is difficult or impossible to deploy.
“Panels arrive on site pre-assembled and pre-racked, enabling a simple, plug-and-play installation that takes around 15 minutes per kWp,” the company said. “There’s no need for tilt frames or invasive roof work, making solar possible on sites where traditional rooftop has already been ruled out.”
Due to its vertical mounting and east-west orientation, the system can also be used in conjunction with traditional rooftop solar to extend solar generation beyond standard daylight peaks, improving overall system economics.
Huon Hoogesteger, founder and Managing Director of Smart, said the system presents new possibilities for commercial rooftops.
“This product opens new opportunities,” he said. “On some buildings it’s the only practical way to add solar at all. On others, it can sit alongside existing panels and help smooth out the midday spike, delivering energy when businesses need it.”
Over Easy co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Trygve Mongstad said the VPU is well suited to the Australian market where rooftop solar is already the largest energy generator in the country. By late 2025, Australia had more than 4.26 million rooftop systems installed under the national Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, representing 27.8 GW of total capacity.
“We see Australia as an extremely relevant market,” Mongstad said. “It has one of the highest solar energy densities in the world, which also means a large share of energy is generated around the middle of the day.”
“Our vertical technology shifts generation toward the morning and afternoon, complementing existing rooftop systems. At the same time, the lightweight design and simple installation open up rooftops that were previously difficult or impossible to use.”
Smart said initial projects will be small-scale installations on carefully selected commercial sites. The targeted trial phase will focus on collecting data around performance, installation efficiency, structural impact and long-term suitability under Australian conditions.
Over Easy, founded in 2021, said more than 1.3 MW of its VPUs have been installed across about 40 buildings in 13 countries.
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