Technology and R&D

Germany-based Sinn Power plans to build a 1.8 MW floating PV system with vertically deployed solar modules. Construction is expected to start this summer.

As solar module prices continue to fall, pvXchange.com founder Martin Schachinger explains how price pressure could increase in the weeks and months to come.

Indian scientists have designed a water-pump drive system that is powered exclusively by photovoltaics. The proposed system configuration reportedly ensures effective use of both the solar modules and the motor.

Researchers in Malaysia have simulated a mixed cation perovskite solar cell integrating tin and germanium in the absorber. By modulating the perovksite layer thickness, they were able to achieve an efficiency ranging from 24.25 % to 31.49 %

German researchers are studying using an overhead solar PV system, designed to be removable and reusable, as a sunshade for young fir trees. The pilot, located at a quartz sand excavation site, will be monitored to compare growth and water consumption with an adjacent unshaded tree plot.

Research indicates that most neighbors of solar power facilities in the United States maintain positive attitudes toward these plants until they exceed 100 MW in capacity, or approximately 400 acres.

The new heat pumps use R-454B as a refrigerant and are specifically designed to be matched with Johnson Controls’ residential gas furnaces. Their size ranges from 1.5 tons to 5 tons and their coefficient of performance (COP) spans between 3.24 and 3.40, according to the manufacturer.

UV Energy has developed a PV system that can be used in parking lots and on other surfaces. It claims that the arrays can be deployed within time frames of three to six weeks.

Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and First Solar have agreed to work together to develop thin-film PV technologies on a gigawatt scale.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that dust storms and slear skies led to contrasting March Solar Performance in West Asia. The Arabian Peninsula experienced humid winds and dust storms that reduced solar irradiance to 90% of typical levels for the month.