Technology

U.S.-based Toledo Solar has secured a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct research on lighter, steel-backed solar modules.

Chinese solar cell manufacturer Tongwei has raised its cell prices by 9% this week after having increased them by 10% three weeks earlier. Another cell manufacturer, Aiko Solar, has unveiled a plan to deploy 36 GW of new cell production capacity.

Presented at the SNEC fair in China, the Niwa Super module series has a power output ranging from 570 W to 615 W and a reported efficiency of 22.1%.

Dutch researchers have analyzed the two most promising solar-assisted technologies to produce green hydrogen, based on the levelized cost of hydrogen. They found that PV-powered hydrogen production offers the lowest costs, at $6.22/kg, with a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency ratio of 10.9%.

Scientists in the U.S. have come a step closer to taking advantage of singlet fission – a phenomenon seen in certain solar cell materials that promises to greatly increase energy yield. By designing and testing various molecules, the group was able to better understand the fundamental processes behind the mechanism and optimize materials to better take advantage of it.

The new results mark an improvement on the institute’s previous 24.3% efficiency record. The III-V tandem solar cell is directly grown on silicon.

The facility’s size and operational pattern could be optimized using a mixed-integer linear programming-based model. By selling hydrogen, supplying grid ancillary services and selling by-product oxygen, power-to-gas economics could be dramatically improved.

An Australian-developed aerial mapping technology is being deployed to speed PV uptake.

Researchers have announced a new technique that is a modified version of the isotropic diffuse model.

Researchers have matched the tinting of semi-transparent PV modules with the bandwidth of light that plants absorb for photosynthesis. A promising trial with basil and spinach has opened up economic opportunities for farmers.