Technology

Brazilian scientists have calculated the potential for floating solar generation in Brazil. The results show an installed potential of 43 GW for all of Brazil, with the state of Minas Gerais leading with 6 GW, followed by Bahia with 4.59 GW, and Sao Paulo with 3.87 GW.

Scientists in China have fabricated a Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite solar cell based on γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as the organic spacer cation. They claim this innovation offers higher power conversion efficiency and outstanding stability.

University of Cambridge researcher Dr Virgil Andrei sits down with pv magazine  to discuss an innovative ultra-thin film device capable of generating clean synthetic fuels while floating merrily on the River Cam. 

Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), have used an antioxidant known as L-glutathione as an interlayer in an organic PV cell to prevent other materials from oxidizing. The cell has an efficiency of 13.5% and an average visible transmittance of 21.5%. The researchers said it is suitable for applications in solar greenhouses.

The European Union is working on a draft proposal, which pv magazine has seen, that would require 85% of the components used in European wind farms – along with 60% of heat pumps, 85% of batteries, and 85% of electrolyzers – to be manufactured on the continent.

Technique Solaire plans to analyze animal behavior in outdoor poultry farms covered with solar panels linked by nets. The setup could be potentially beneficial for the birds and the quality of their meat.

Fraunhofer ISE has presented the results of retrofit heat pump installations in multi-family homes in Germany. One demonstrator featured rooftop solar PV and a multi-source heat pump developed in partnership with Viessmann. It uses air and geothermal as heat sources.

Scientists from Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE and US panel maker Solaria have applied thermal laser separation and post-metallization passivated edge technology to tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cell production. They have developed shingle PV devices that are more efficient than cells built with conventional laser scribing and mechanical cleaving methods.

RIC Energy has built a 1.3 MW PV array and a 4.5 MWh battery system for two water treatment plants and five water pumping stations in Malawi. The hybrid system will treat enough water to supply more than 200,000 people.

United Kingdom-based Above’s founder and CEO Will Hitchcock sits down with pv magazine to discuss the solar industry’s growing demand for drone-based aerial inspection and data analysis, the game changing utility of digital twins, and what the future holds for autonomous drone programs.