Storing large scale renewables with basalt stones
A Danish consortium is seeking to store electricity from large scale renewable energy plants in the form of thermal energy in big tanks containing crushed, pea-sized stones made of basalt. The first 10 MWh demonstrator is planned to be developed in Denmark and to be powered by a wind facility. Another project is also under development in the United States and is planned to be linked to a solar plant.
Lithium saturation to make old batteries new
Scientists investigating the aging mechanisms affecting today’s lithium-ion batteries observed that the loss of lithium over time is one of the main causes of performance loss. With this in mind, they developed and tested a “relithiation” process that promises to eliminate much of the cost and complexity from recycling battery components and materials.
Solar sculpture to produce 300 MWh of electricity annually
Called Solar Mountain, the permanent installation should be built in Nevada with modular design elements of recycled wood and other environmentally friendly materials.
Longi sets TOPCon cell record of 25.09%
The world’s number one solar manufacturer said the result has been confirmed by the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin, Germany.
Floating structure design for offshore PV
Researchers at the Norwegian institute Sintef are testing a special floating structure that Equinor wants to deploy in offshore waters. The structure is built with an anchoring system that is claimed to give the installation enough freedom to cope with the waves.
Solar revitalizes abandoned desalination plant in Spain
A new €99 million solar project will help the Rambla Morales desalination plant, which shut down in 2011, to resume operations by fall 2022.
Absorbent glass mat battery for residential storage
Silicon Valley-based start-up Gridtential has secured $12 million in funds to develop what it calls the world’s first factory-ready, single-block, 24V, deep-cycle lead battery. The product is claimed to be ideal for personal mobility vehicles and renewable energy storage in homes and offices.
German utility-scale PV tender concludes with lowest price of €0.0469/kWh
Germany wrapped up another oversubscribed tender for large-scale solar last week, as well as an innovation tender for storage-linked PV projects.
Power controller to connect solar to terminals of electrolyzers
An Australian innovation, the unassuming-looking CQSola power controller has under-the-hood smarts that could significantly cut the cost of hydrogen produced using solar energy.
Solar 101: Working the angles to maximize your solar system’s output
As a case study, the town of Normal, Illinois, shows how a roof’s latitude, pitch, and azimuth can affect energy output.
