Chinese scientists develop colorless solar concentrator for PV windows
The research team’s semi-transparent solar concentrator can be directly coated onto standard window glass. It uses liquid crystal films to reflect and guide circularly-polarized sunlight to solar cells installed toward the edge of a window. A 1-inch diameter prototype was found capable of directly powering a 10 mW fan under sunlight.
Rable offers mounting system for east-west PV systems on low-load flat roofs
The Dutch startup said it is developing markets in France, Sweden, and Belgium after completing more than 50 solar rooftop projects in its home market based on its east-west oriented, self-supported mounting system.
Domain adaptation framework for PV power forecasting
A team of researchers have developed a domain adaption framework capable of transferring knowledge from solar power plants with abundant data to plants that need to be trained without labelled data. The framework has been tested at three solar power sites in Germany and was found to perform better than reference models.
Italy issues new fire safety rules for PV and storage systems
Italy’s fire service has introduced binding guidelines for PV systems up to 1,500 V, adding rules on storage, spacing, compartmentalization, and maintenance.
Nextracker acquires Origami Solar for $53 million
Nextracker has acquired US steel solar frame maker Origami Solar for $53 million, expanding into panel frame production to accelerate installations, support local supply chains and improve system durability.
Solar, wave-powered uncrewed vehicle for marine monitoring
UK-based Autonaut offers wave-propelled and solar PV-powered drones capable of data collection at sea for several months at a time.
Canadian Solar presents 660 W ‘low-carbon’ heterojunction module with 24.4% efficiency
The new products are available in nine versions with power output ranging from 620 W to 660 W and power conversion efficiency spanning from 23.0% to 24.4%. Canadian Solar said the panels have a carbon footprint of 285 kg CO₂eq/kW, which is reportedly one of the lowest among all silicon-based solar modules worldwide.
Solarcleano launches panel cleaning robot for large PV installations, trackers
The Luxembourg startup’s newest product is a portable, dry and wet cleaning system with 2.45 m wide brushes, designed to be operated by a single person.
EIA to cancel US solar module shipment report after review
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has proposed ending its solar module shipment report, citing limited value compared with reporting burdens.
Analysis of 6,276 connectors for rooftop PV systems
Sandia National Labs researchers have created a new dataset on the rates and types of rooftop PV connector failures. Their analysis has shown that tight wire bending radius, extra dirty connectors, and loose nuts are the most common failure causes in 6,276 connectors deployed between 2014 and 2017 across seven U.S. regions.
