Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

Measuring protection

Solarizing the rooftops

A worldwide pursuit

Increasing photovoltaic efficiency

By:  Peter Oesterlin, Andreas Büchel

Selective emitters: Increasing cell efficiency remains an active and important aspect in the solar industry. Laser doping for selective emitters of crystalline solar cells holds the potential to break some boundaries, as Peter...

World wide testing

Better cells, cheaper cells

Tin and zinc sprinkled dream

By:  Shamsiah Ali-Oettinger

CZTS: Reports streamed out of the IBM labs confirming the arrival of this new absorber for thin film solar cells. Research work into the copper-zinc-tin-sulfur/selenium (CZTS/Se) combination has been on-going for years now, but...

Early thin film progress

Nanoscale light trap

By:  Jan Provoost and Pol Van Dorpe

Plasmonics: The plasmonic effect can improve the absorption of light by a solar cell’s photoactive material. A consortium of institutes and PV companies, coordinated by the research center imec in Leuven, Belgium, is conducting...

Expanding the laser tool box

By:  Malte Schulz-Ruhtenberg

Lasers in PV production: Lasers have the potential to become vital tools for many processes in the production chain of crystalline solar cells. Malte Schulz-Ruhtenberg of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in...

BIPV to AIPV

The silent revolution continues

Aging overvalued

By:  Michael Fuhs

Degradation: Most yield assessments include possible module degradation in their calculations, yet there’s little evidence to show whether modules really lose power as the years go by. Experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for...

The solar revolution goes on

Breaking point: soldered joints

Nuclear or solar?

The art and science of high-efficiency solar cells

360 degrees capture

Women, wind, stones and solar

No more flying blind

Quality panes

From dawn to dusk

Generating dollars where there’s no sun

By:  Tyler Hamilton

Solar inverter upgrade: A Canadian Engineering Professor has come up with a way to use idle solar inverter capacity in the evening to help relieve congestion on the grid and expand capacity for wind and other renewable sources....

Concentrating on concentrators

Finding the right home

Evolution marches on

Ammonium hydroxide attacks panels

By:  Katrin Petzold

Module test: Aggressive ammonium hydroxide develops in livestock barns, which may lead to corrosion on solar panels. Various institutions in Germany, among them the German Agricultural Society DLG and TÜV Rheinland, have reacted...

Portable, shapeable, durable

Tracking shadows

By:  Jonathan Gifford

Cloud surveillance: A criticism commonly leveled at renewable energy producers is that the electricity they supply is variable and intermittent. However, the ability to make accurate short-term output forecasts can help to...

The PEPPER project

PV for glass and steel

By:  Sara Ver-Bruggen

Organic PV: Several developers of novel solar cells are teaming up with suppliers of building façade and envelope materials to turn buildings into renewable electricity generators. But why are these industrial players working...

Stable texturization process by carbohydrates

Increased output in autumn and winter

Smart chemistry

Low cost diffusion process

Pyranometers, reference cells: the difference

The substitution game

Controlling edge sharpness using Rz

Land of the rising solar cell

Enhancement of electrical performance

Tech investment

Solar superhero

By:  Jonathan Gifford

Interview: Having been a world leader in crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell efficiency since 1983, The University of New South Wales’ Martin Green is a true Solar superhero. Despite the fortunes of some of the Chinese c-Si...

“A giant leap towards the future”

Let the light in

Quantum dots: The pros and cons in PV

By:  Rasin Ahmed

Quantum dots: PV has anchored its place as one of the most promising renewable energy technologies owing to its operational feasibility, durability and ease of maintenance. Within this field, quantum dot (QD) semiconductors...

Let the molecules do the work

By:  House, Alibabaei, Bonino, Hoertz, Trainham, Meyer

Artificial photosynthesis: A team from the Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC, University of North Carolina) and the Research Triangle Solar Fuels Institute (RTSFI) in North Carolina, United States, is investigating a...

In pursuit of the super PERC cell

Energized seniors

Pyranometers and reference cells

Saving solar for a rainy day

Solarizing the electrified

Solar for the people

Life in fast forward

Electrifying the unelectrified

Stricter and more uniform

Preparing to move out of the niche

Uniting water and sun

Breaking the glass cartel

Problem child on probation

Father Verspieren preaches the solar gospel

Not a sticky matter

Anything but stress

By:  Claudia Treffert

Wafer production: Large-scale manufacturers, in particular, can reduce costs with automatic wafer singulation. But it is still not clear which of the processes on the market is best suited to automated singulation.

Clean and green mass production

Laundry by the sun

Successful visionary

Working on the railroad

The trouble with silicon

By:  Heiko Schwarzburger

Triple Green, part 2: Silicon may be made of sand, but it is far from harmless. By the time the quartz becomes a module, it has lost its innocence. Nuclear power is used to smelt it, and the manufacturing process involves toxic...

Long distance for everyone

Photovoltaic glitter

Bigger and thinner – but quicker?

Connecting Australia

Aging brings surprises