Storing renewables via regenerative braking in underground mines
Scientists in Austria have developed a long-term energy storage system that uses regenerative braking to adjust the descent speed of sand in mine shafts and generate electricity.
Vertical PV for clean energy and crop production
Researchers and project developers throughout the world are increasingly looking at agrivoltaic installations with vertically oriented solar panels.
Grid congestion continues to increase in Netherlands
Solar project developers see fewer opportunities to build PV facilities in the northern Netherlands, as grid bottlenecks are becoming worse.
US startup unveils saltwater flow battery for large-scale storage
US-based Salgenx has developed a scalable redox flow battery with two separate tanks of electrolytes, one of which is saltwater. Unlike other flow batteries, the new device is membrane-free, promising big gains at the levelized cost of storage level.
Adapting agrivoltaics to different climates, crops
An international consortium led by Italy’s Eurac Research launched the Symbiosyst project to adapt PV modules, mounting structures, and maintenance technologies to the needs of various crops in agrivoltaic installations in different climates.
Sustainable Capital offers €100m of financing for EU hydrogen companies
The European Union and its funding mechanisms for hydrogen are attracting the interest of private funds and investors. Sustainable Capital says it wants to co-invest in preselected companies, mainly in the mobility sector, focusing on Estonia, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Assessing vibrations in solar modules due to robot cleaning
Qatari researchers have looked at the degree to which cleaning robots could threaten the physical integrity of solar panels. They found that cleaning machines have a very minimal impact and that modules of similar sizes tend to exhibit roughly the same amount of vibration.
Spray passivation to reduce losses in TOPCon, HJT cell-to-module process
Chinese researchers have developed a new passivation technique for shingled solar panels based on tunnel oxide passivated contacts (TOPCon) or heterojunction (HJT) tech. It reduces recombination losses in the cell-to-module process and reportedly increases open-circuit voltage, fill factor, and efficiency.
New method to measure energy yield of bifacial PV systems
Canadian scientists have developed a new way to measure the energy yield of bifacial PV systems. They said they considered the spectral albedo of ground cover like snow and sand to predict energy gains of up to 2%, in comparison with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard.
Weekend Read: Giga and giga
pv magazine Australia’s Natalie Filatoff reports on the benefits of planning vast solar project pipelines, and the barriers faced by those who dare to dream big.
