Technology and R&D

Amid a backdrop of massive installations and evolving metrics, IEA-PVPS 2024 “Trends Report” encapsulates significant shifts in photovoltaic deployment across the globe, reflecting PV’s evolving role in energy systems and underscoring its capacity to meet global demands. The association explores the trends identified in the report, noting the milestones, regional dynamics, and the implications of increased PV penetration in energy grids worldwide.

Scientists in the Middle East have developed a series active filter to improve power quality in grid-tied PV systems, consisting of an inductor, two capacitors, and four transistor-diode pairs. The filter reduces total harmonic distortion in voltage and current waves at the inverter output.

An international research team has used data on Beijing’s public transit system to explore if bus depots could host solar installations and energy storage facilities to help reduce the load on the city’s grid. The researchers say they plan to generalize their proposed model to help other areas estimate possible return on investment of transforming other civic infrastructure into energy hubs.

Korean scientists have fabricated a perovskite-organic solar cell with a uniform sub-nanometer dipole layer. The device recorded a power conversion efficiency of 24% under testing, a new record for lead-based hybrid perovskite-organic solar cells.

A team from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering has reinvented the design of screen-printed contacts to reduce costs and silver consumption, without sacrificing the efficiency of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cells.

Researchers in China have proposed a new hybrid transaction model for distributed power trading. The model encourages the participation of aggregators in market transactions for distributed resources and promotes the expansion of distributed energy storage.

New research from Norway has found that deploying around 140 GW of green hydrogen generation capacity by 2050 could make green hydrogen economically viable in Europe. Reaching this scale may help balance system costs effectively while increasing renewable integration, making green hydrogen a self-sustaining technology without subsidies, according to the scientists.

A Belgian-Dutch research group has designed a PV noise barrier that reportedly offers a good performance in terms of power yield, drivers’ safety and noise cancellation. Its payback time was estimated at between 6 and 10 years.

A case study by kWh Analytics demonstrated the value of building a resilient, weather-hardened solar facility.

The European Union will continue advancing hydrogen projects, focusing on infrastructure design and supporting production with European equipment, according to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.