Hydrogen-fired gas turbines vs. lithium-ion storage
According to a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, hydrogen-fired gas plants will compete with lithium-ion storage for seasonal storage and their competitiveness will strictly depend on the heat rate of the gas power plants they may replace.
Two years of perovskite progress
Scientists in China examined some of the key achievements in the development of perovskite solar cells in 2020 and 2021. The group finds that translating laboratory achievements onto larger, manufacturable devices, is the biggest challenge, and sees continuing collaboration between the industry and academic researchers as the key to overcoming this challenge.
Indian ashram deploys solar+storage system
Loom Solar has installed a solar+storage system at a small ashram in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The project features six 440 W PV modules, a 5 kWh (100 Ah/51.2 V) lithium ion storage system, and a 5 kVA string inverter.
Portable hydrogen fuel cell generator with power output of 400 W
The generator can be combined with batteries, solar panels, or small wind turbines. It is based on a proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology and is claimed to have a minimum lifetime of 5,000 working hours.
Australian utility deploys AI-powered drone tech to monitor PV assets
SA Water, one of the largest water utilities in Australia, has partnered with aerial solar inspection specialist Above to monitor the performance of its 360,000-plus solar panels.
Solar 101: Tips for keeping your rooftop solar system humming over the long term
Solar O&M comes down to mechanical rooftop connections, electrical solar panel connections, panel and connection temperatures, and inverters. Here are four possible plans of attack.
Bringing the noise for better solar cell efficiency
An international team of scientists developed a technique to isolate individual sources of electrical ‘noise’ within a solar cell. Comparing the technique to being able to pick out a single voice within a 200-person choir, they say the technique will help to improve understanding of where efficiency losses occur within a cell, and effective ways to mitigate them.
Sungrow brings its three-phase residential storage solutions to Europe
Up to eight battery modules from the Chinese manufacturer can be combined to form a storage system with a capacity of up to 25.6 kWh. According to Sungrow, it is not necessary to wire the battery modules.
Huasun achieves 25.26% efficiency for heterojunction solar cell
The result was confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin.
Inverted perovskite solar cell with 22.1% efficiency via star-shaped polymer
The solar cell was fabricated with a special polymer that is able to passivate defects at the grain boundaries and interfacial surfaces, inhibit nonradiative recombination and charge-transport loss, and improve stabilities under moisture. The device exhibited a remarkable fill factor, of 0.862.
