Technology and R&D

An international research team has proposed to use nighttime radiative cooling to harvest water from PV panels and reuse it for module cleaning during the daytime. According to their findings, the proposed system has, also, a beneficial effect on the modules’ operating temperature.

Cornwall Insight estimates Australia’s energy storage pipeline at 7 GW, although most of that capacity is still in the proposal phase. More than 900 MW of storage will be built by 2024 – far more than the market operator’s 2020 forecast.

U.K.-based Above has developed a digital approach to unifying PV plant testing and inspection data. The company said the new tool can create a permanent digital record for the future.

Australian scientists have demonstrated two loss-mitigation techniques that could improve solar‐to‐hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiencies and may lay the ground for cheaper PV-powered hydrogen generation. By combining the two techniques, they were able to achieve an STH efficiency of around 19.4% at realistic operating temperatures.

You’ll need to pay close attention to find the few mentions of solar in the long-awaited White Paper issued by the government to outline how it plans to hit net zero by mid century.

A new paper from scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) examines the entire history of PERC technology, from its beginnings in laboratories more than 40 years ago to today, where it represents the majority of all PV cell production. And this story is far from over, as ISE lays out a pathway to efficiencies of 26% as well as use as the bottom cell in a tandem device that it believes will keep PERC technology in mass production to 2030 and beyond.

Dutch researchers have shown that bifacial floating PV arrays do not benefit significantly from sunlight reflected from the water, and claim that the water only reduces panel temperatures by a small amount. Bird droppings may also affect system performance, but floating PV could achieve a lower LCoE than ground-mounted arrays if such issues are addressed, they say.

The third annual scorecard published by the consultant has tested 22 batteries with different chemistries for cycling stability and temperature-dependent behaviour and identified significant product trends.

Dutch startup Solarix has developed a new line of facade solar panels featuring 13.8% efficiency and output ranging from 110 to 180 W, depending on the module size and color. The panels can be bolted or glued onto aluminum mounting systems applied to facades.

Malaysian researchers have proposed a new passive technology for solar module cooling based on fin heat sinks. The tech ensures lower PV system payback times and reduces operating module temperatures by up to 26 C.