Technology and R&D

Overirradiance conditions may affect the operating performance of photovoltaic plants, the stability of the electrical grid, and the efficiency of inverters. A research team has warned these effects are currently not being given proper consideration by the solar industry.

New research from the United Kingdom claims that ground mounted PV facilities have a negative effect on bat activity. According to the scientists, the panels may be causing some bats to alter their flight paths, potentially resulting in further fragmentation of the ecological landscape.

The model utilizes deep learning and image processing techniques and is said to offer “superior performance.” In the future, it might be able to differ between panels of PV and solar thermal systems.

As part of a new series of articles this summer, pv magazine revisits news from the PV sector of 10 years ago. The insights evoke memories while also providing a glimpse of what the solar landscape could look like in 2030.

Solar pre-cooling consists of using residential PV systems to run air conditioners to pre-cool residential and commercial buildings. It offers benefits in terms of mitigating low minimum demand in electricity networks, flattening the grid’s net demand profile, and reducing electricity bills.

A research team has developed OHP-based photoanodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, minimizing the usual limitations. Meanwhile, China released its first hydrogen guideline, and Germany announced €18.6 billion for the hydrogen industry. Finally, a German company finds out that hydrogen trains are more expensive than battery-operated vehicles.

Biwatt Power, a Chinese manufacturer, has developed new residential sodium-ion batteries with an efficiency rate of 97% and a projected lifespan of more than 3,000 cycles.

The University of Sevilla has designed a PV-powered “smart” canopy that activates a thermal conditioning system to reduce extreme heat by up to 20 C.

The port of Valencia, Spain, is assessing the performance a vertical PV wall featuring 21 solar modules, with 8.6 kW of total capacity. A successful pilot project could pave the way for a larger vertical PV system on the port’s breakwaters.

Octopus Energy has agreed to invest $89 million to scale up Kensa Group, a ground-source heat pump business, while KfW IPEX-Bank has agreed to provide $129.6 million of financing to German heat pump manufacturer Valliant.