Dismissed by many in the solar industry as an overly-complex, outdated technology, concentrated solar power (CSP) is set for a comeback thanks to a scaled-down, modular approach.

Power Panel offers a PV and thermal storage solution that combines simple, safe and easy to manage hot water with advanced thermoplastic technology and architecture.

In its latest monthly column for pv magazine, SolarPower Europe describes which policy tools are expected to help Europe move at a faster pace in solar and renewable energy deployment. The European trade body discusses the upcoming support schemes, the transformation of the PPA market and the rise of green finance.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Maria Sabella, CEO and founder of Italy-based Enlight Energy Services. She told as, in some cases, at the beginning of her working relationships, she felt some prejudgment from male colleagues, but she also aknowledged, that the initial reaction disappeared after the focus on the details of the activity to be performed increased.

Greece has grand plans for an interconnector network that runs from the Middle East through to the heart of Europe. pv magazine examines the latest developments on the road to a Mediterranean super grid and what it might mean for the regions involved.

The U.S. based developer of steel PV module frames said its products are an alternative to conventional aluminum frames. They passed several third party tests as the company readies production and evaluations by module manufacturers.

An Austrian team develped a model to optimize lamination parameters and to flag critical, insufficiently crosslinked and inconsistent encapsulant laminations.

A group of researchers has analyzed the coefficient of performance and the energy consumption of two heat pump systems in the Iranian capital. The results were very similar.

Chinese solar module manufacturer Sunman has launched new glass-free frameless monocrystalline PERC solar modules for balcony solar arrays. “We are currently seeing strong demand for these modules in China, Germany and France,” the company’s Senior Business Manager, Julia Xie, told pv magazine. “We are also selling them in Italy and other European markets.” The modules […]

Researchers in China have compared the performance of catenary and taut mooring systems for offshore floating PV systems. They found that taut system offer a higher degree of reliability in shallow water environments with severe tidal variations.

Scientists in the Netherlands conducted meta-analysis on the growth of strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, and black currant under different levels of shade generated by elevated agrivoltaic systems. They found that, although classified as shade-benefitting in previous literature, not all berries are equally profiting from the presence of the photovoltaic panels.

Researchers in India have simulated a 4 kW solar power-based hybrid electric vehicle (EV) charging station using a three-stage charging strategy and found that the station is capable of charging 10–12 EVs with 48 V 30 Ah lithium-ion batteries.

The French authorities plan to launch a series of tenders to deploy PV systems along highways, starting this month.

EnergySage says market figures from the second half of 2023 show moderate declines in the cost of solar and energy storage.

Researchers in Spain claim to have recorded the highest power conversion efficiency result for a four-terminal tandem organic cell to date. The device is based on an ultrathin transparent silver electrode.

A Saudi research group has assessed how polymeric coatings, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), could be used for radiative cooling in photovoltaic panels and has found that both materials could reduce the operating PV module temperature by between 1.15 C and 1.35 C.

The product has an integrated MPPT logic to maximize operation. Input voltage ranges from 225 to 800 VDC.

France’s indoor organic PV specialist Dracula Technologies and Swiss-headquartered semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics demonstrated a battery-free illuminometer at the Embedded World trade fair in Germany last week.

Researchers in Taiwan have discovered that in polysilicon production the crucible angular speed affects the oxygen concentration near the crucible wall, which in turn affects the wafers’ mechanical and electrical properties. They simulated a Czochralski process for an ingot with a diameter of 200 mm diameter and a length of 700 mm.

An international research team has placed a neem oil tank on the back of solar modules for cooling purposes. The proposed solution reportedly improves PV panel performance by up to 17.8%.

The company says it has a full load efficiency of above 98.5%. Compared to the previous generation, it had reduced its footprint by 49%.

Representatives from the European Solar Manufacturing Council, Ultra Low Carbon Solar Alliance, PVthin, and the Environmental Coalition on Standards have proposed changes to the carbon footprint accountability methodology, the use of green certificates, and the planned design of the Energy Label for PV products.

TU Delft researchers have proposed a new approach for solar cell manufacturing that implies gauging wafer thickness depending on the regions where the cells and modules will be deployed. They also suggested to adopt test conditions that are representative of the outdoor working condition of solar cells in an alternative to standard testing conditions.

The researcher team, from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham university in Coimbatore, India, sandwiched macroalgae between a carbon-coated copper electrode and a titanium oxide-coated fluorine-doped tin oxide electrode. The 1 cm2 device exhibited a 1.25 mA photocurrent and 0.5 V photovoltage under UV light.

The increased frequency of negative energy prices is due to the consequences of the pandemic, low demand, low adoption of storage solutions, and poor energy planning. AleaSoft explains pv magazine that the situation will continue in the summer, expecting the next two years to be exceptions to the norm.

Battery research is advancing to address issues in the lithium-ion development process and concerns about safety and aging. Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) tech, meanwhile, is in the starting blocks, but interoperability is the key hurdle to achieving mass market penetration.

Scientists have published their two-years results from the pilot housing project. LCOE has decreased from 0.86 €/kWh to 0.34 €/kWh.

Researchers in China have developed a photovoltaic cold storage system that is reportedly able to improve refrigeration capacity and ice storage rate. The system is said to ensure a stable cooling system operation for the refrigeration needs of agricultural products.

The German manufacturer said the new air-to-water systems are part of its Hybrox series. Their coefficient of performance is between 4.3 and 5.3 and their size ranges from 11 kW to 16 kW.