Cylindrical solar panel for street lighting
Developed by an Italian manufacturer, the panel is available in three versions with a power output of 100, 120, and 240 W and has a weight of 5 kg. It is encapsulated in thermoformable plastic technical polymers and can be connected in series with other modules around the same post.
Co-evaporated perovskite solar cell with 20.6% efficiency
Researchers in Singapore have built what they claim is the industry’s most efficient, large-area co-evaporated solar cell. According to their findings, the device has exhibited remarkable thermal stability and could reach commercial maturity within the next few years.
Cooling PV panels with water and cotton mesh
Scientists in Russia have developed an active cooling technique that spreads water on both sides of the module and uses a cotton wick mesh to absorb and spread the water that comes on the rear side. The system is able to reduce significantly a module’s operating temperature and lead to an overall improvement of 30.3% in its output power.
Australian startup sets 25.54% efficiency record for silicon cell
SunDrive said it has created the most effective commercial-sized silicon solar cell in the world, achieving an efficiency figure of 25.54% in testing carried out by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH).
LCOE of monofacial, bifacial solar modules
Does higher energy production outweigh an increase in costs? Clean Energy Associates tries to answer this question in a new case study.
Toshiba claims 15.1% efficiency for polymer film-based large-area perovskite solar module
The result is claimed to be the highest efficiency ever reached for a large-area, polymer film-based perovskite photovoltaic module. The device has an area of 703 square centimeters and was fabricated through a new coating method.
NREL scientists test back-contact architecture on perovskite solar cells
Scientists in the United States explored the use of all back contact architectures for perovskite solar cells. The group notes several advantages to this strategy, as well as challenges to overcome. Ultimately, the work outlines a route to cell efficiencies better than 20%.
JA Solar, JinkoSolar, Longi reach consensus on 182mm module standardization
The three Chinese panel manufacturers found an agreement on the module size and the mounting hole spacing.
Indian home gets 36.72 kW PV system with 540 W panels
Maxwatt Solar has built a PV system that is purportedly India’s largest residential on-grid residential solar installation, with 540 Wp modules. It uses 68 of JA Solar 540 Wp half-cell mono PERC modules and a 27 kW Fronius inverter.
All-perovskite tandem solar cell with 24.9% efficiency via cross-linkable small molecules
Scientists in China found that a change to the hole transport layer material helped to reduce voltage loss in a perovskite solar cell. The discovery demonstrates a promising new pathway to overcoming a major challenge for perovskites – particularly those used as the top layer in a tandem device.
