Technology and R&D

Weidmüller USA, a manufacturer of electrical connectivity solutions, has introduced new PV DC Combiner Box models for large-scale PV systems in the US.

A Colorado farmer has installed vertical bifacial solar, leveraging greenhouse albedo to increase output. The installation demonstrates promising generation during winter months, while maximizing limited land space.

Scientists in Korea examined the parameters of laser ‘scribe and break’ processes used to cut silicon cells, in search of optimizations to reduce damage caused at the cut edges. They also found that varying encapsulant thickness or even adding a supportive rail across the back of a module can help reduce performance loss caused by cell cutting damage.

Spanish researchers have defined practical guidelines for short-term ground-based albedo measurements that reportedly entail a maximum of 1.5% yield uncertainty contribution for utility scale bifacial solar PV plants.

The world would have been a different place today had John Goodenough accepted the Shah of Iran’s $7 million offer, in 1974, to carry out solar research. Instead, he secured a job as the head of inorganic chemistry at the University of Oxford. During his tenure, he made a lithium-ion battery discovery that would affect the lives of almost everyone.

A research team in China combined solar power generation from kesterite thin-film generation with a nickel-cobalt bimetal oxide (NiCoO2) electrochromic window. The proposed prototype not only realizes the function integration of self-power and intelligent solar radiation adjustment, but also extends its function to energy storage.

The German authorities have announced plans to double domestic electrolysis capacity to 10 GW by 2030, BloombergNEF has reported that green hydrogen became competitive with gray hydrogen earlier than expected, and Chinese researchers have presented new research on microbial hydrogen production.

Researchers in Spain have investigated how climate change may possibly impact solar power generation in the world’s region with the highest solar radiation levels – the Atacama desert in northern Chile. They found that, although global warming has the potential to impact solar power generation in the Atacama region, the desert will still retain exceptional conditions for solar power production.

RCT Solutions says it will provide its module production equipment for CAD 3 billion ($2.26 billion) in a 10 GW solar module factory in Manitoba, Canada. The Manitoba provincial government said in a statement that the facility will be fully integrated.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research have developed a bifunctional solar battery device that enables simultaneous light charging, charge storing, and electric discharging. The device relies on a bifunctional carbon nitride photoanode to harvest sunlight and store its energy via trapped electrons.