Technology

Australian renewables startup Green Gravity has teamed with underground mining contractor RUC to accelerate the commercialization of its gravitational energy storage tech.

In May 2022, PV experts from around the world convened in Germany for the third Terawatt Workshop. Almost one year later, takeaways from discussions at the workshop – combined with a wide-ranging review of research on decarbonization pathways, energy demand projections, and the state of the art in PV technology – led to the conclusion that 75 TW of installed solar capacity by 2050 was a realistic global target. More than 50 leading PV industry figures recently outlined the opportunity and the challenges that solar will face in reaching this goal.

Sofar, a China-based inverter and battery manufacturer, has introduced a new series of microinverters for balcony solar arrays and rooftop PV systems. They have a 97.5% efficiency rating and offer between 500 VA and 2,400 VA of rated power.

Oxford nanoSystems (OnS) has started working with electrolyzer manufacturers to test and scale up hydrogen production.

Scientists in the United Kingdom have investigated the durability and performance of all antireflecting coatings for solar modules and said further work is needed to improve industry standards. Their review addresses single-layer and multi-layer techniques and provides insight on their costs and viability.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted a time-motion study and found that retrofitting roof-integrated PV requires 7% less labor than standard solar installations. For new builds, installation times fall by 44%.

At this year’s Intersolar Europe conference in Munich, pv magazine caught up with Gregory Lukens, the new Director Utility Europe for Solis, a brand of Ginlong Technologies. He discussed his background in solar, and how the company is looking to build its footprint in the European utility scale segment.

Sonnex Energie is offering five versions of its new PV modules, with power outputs of 395 W to 415 W and power conversion efficiencies ranging from 20.23% to 21.25%. They also have a temperature coefficient of -0.35% per degree Celsius.

The European solar landscape changed forever in 2022 and managing the supply chain, grid, and permitting constraints will be key to a solar-dominated energy future for the continent.

A research team in Turkey sought to assess how solar power may help reduce emissions and improve performance in air conditioning systems. Their analysis showed that using a heater in the AC system improves the coefficient of performance and mitigates negative environmental effects.