New research from Australia has shown that singlet fission solar cells do not only have the potential to raise the theoretical efficiency of the PV technology to unexpected levels but also to provide a better temperature behavior and longer duration compared to conventional PV devices. The scientists believe that this technique may help conventional crystalline silicon solar cell technologies reach efficiencies close to 30%.

The polysilicon manufacturer has once again rejected allegations of forced labor by opening the doors of its factory in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to international investors and journalists. Video footage of the event was published by the company on its website.

Grid congestion issues are increasing in the Netherlands and several Dutch farmers claim to have remained without access to the grid despite having completed their rooftop arrays.

The Golomoti solar plant is expected to come online by the end of the year. The plant will be used to provide grid stability and reduce national dependence on diesel generators and hydroelectric generation.

A Chinese-Finnish research team has identified composite membranes as the best future option for non-aqueous redox flow batteries.

Turkish researchers have developed a cooling technique in which water is sprayed via an air-assisted external mixing flat fan nozzle. The system can produce smaller droplet sizes to ensure the even distribution of water on panels.

In the third interview of a series, pv magazine spoke to Prof. Arvind Shah of École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne and Associate Prof. Alessandro Romeo from the University of Verona about the challenges and opportunities of cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV tech. They said there is still potential to ramp up efficiency and cut costs, and claimed that the toxicity of cadmium should not be seen as a serious concern.

Developed by a French-Canadian research group, the triple-junction cell is based on indium gallium phosphide (InGaP), indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) and germanium (Ge) and has an active area of only 0.089 mm2. It can be used for applications in micro-concentrator photovoltaics (CPV).

It’s claimed the decentralized desalination system can deliver a levelized cost for desalinated water of US$0.7-4.3/m3, depending on PV costs and electricity prices. It was built with several concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV-T) collectors, a hot water tank, a V-MEMD module, a seawater feed tank, and a distillate tank.

A new report from Bernreuter Research reveals that Wacker Chemie lost its top spot in the 2020 global polysilicon rankings. It was also the only western company among the “Big Six” that are expected to form a new polysilicon super league in the PV industry. Overall, these six reached a total polysilicon capacity of 470,000 MT last year.