Agrivoltaics can improve water conservation in Africa
Research led by the University of Sheffield installed an off-grid agrivoltaic system in Tanzania and a grid-tied agrivoltaic system in Kenya. They found the installations helped boost crop yield and conserve water while generating electricity at a lower cost than the national grid.
Coatema launches roll-to-roll production lines for organic, perovskite, dye-sensitized solar cells
German PV equipment company Coatema Coating Machinery says its roll-to-roll processing solutions cover from lab or pilot to production scale.
Scientists design 30.22%-efficient perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell with heterojunction bottom tech
An international research team has developed a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell with a hole transport layer based on methyl-substituted carbazole and submicron-sized textured silicon bottom heterojunction cells. The proposed cell configuration uses commercially available Czochralski silicon wafers and promises efficiencies over 30%.
Global solar module prices stable-to-soft as markets absorb news of U.S. election, policy changes
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.
Solar panel price drop in November may mark end of downward trend
Martin Schachinger, founder of pvXchange.com, says the 8% price drop in November for solar modules could mark the end of sustained declines, as market signals are pointing to a possible recovery.
China issues stricter investments rules for PV manufacturing
China has tightened investment rules for PV manufacturing, raising the minimum capital ratio for starting projects from 20% to 30%, according to new standardized guidelines announced by the government.
Trina Solar claims record-breaking efficiency of 26.58% for TOPCon solar cell
Trina Solar says it has achieved a record efficiency of 26.58% for a tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell. The Chinese manufacturer says Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH) has independently verified the result.
Balloon-integrated PV system for emergency power needs at low altitude
Researchers in China have created a balloon-integrated photovoltaic system that reportedly represents a feasible solution for emergency PV power generation in mid-to-high latitudes. It consists of a customized balloon, 19%-efficient thin-film cadmium telluride solar cells, an exhaust valve, control and storage modules, fixed ropes, and a cord reel, as well as an upper hemisphere and a lower arc surface.
Inkjet printed formamidinium tin-lead perovskite cell with 10.26% efficiency
Researchers from Germany and India have demonstrated an inkjet printing method to fabricate formamidinium tin-lead perovskite solar cells, achieving 10.26% power conversion efficiency and a 1.25 eV energy bandgap.
All solar cell efficiencies at a glance – updated
The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 65 of the solar cell efficiency tables. There are 17 new results reported in the new version.
