Technology and R&D

Belgian researchers are testing agrivoltaic power generation in a pear orchard. The first pilot project features specially designed 185 W solar panels with transparent backsheets, conventional silicon cells, and a 21% efficiency rate.

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have suggested US homeowners are prepared to pay $279 per year to avoid living within a mile of a solar plant.

Scientists at the University of New South Wales have developed a model to determine the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) by also considering historical weather data at specific locations. According to them, powering electrolyzers with off-grid solar offers the advantage of avoiding the expense of a grid connection and exposure to the risk of delays in both the physical connection and the approval process.

The technology group from China is now presenting its Luna2000 photovoltaic storage system on a roadshow across Germany. It will start sales with a number of partners later this year in several European countries.

Only one of the 28 hybrid renewable energy plants allocated in the oversubscribed exercise did not feature solar, and PV took all the awards in the single-technology section of the procurement round.

A Spanish-Dutch research group has created nomograms for PV system sizing that not only offer a standard calculation tool but also provide additional information about what-if scenarios with higher-level knowledge about price of modifications and limitations of project sites.

Doubling down on renewable energy investment and energy transition spending is required to ensure a truly green global recovery from the Covid-19 crisis and its economic aftershock, claims the International Renewable Energy Agency.

A new building at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is being covered with facade CGIS solar panels provided by German manufacturer Avancis. A research team will analyze their performance and special features, including new sensors for incident radiation and heat.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur have developed 12×12 cm2 sub-modules from organic solar PV cells on a paper substrate that could be used to power flexible electronic devices under an indoor lighting environment. The modules are said to deliver a power density of up to 12 µW/cm2 under illumination from a 1000-lux cool‐white LED.

Researchers in South Korea have analyzed the effects of alkali doping on the fill factor of kesterite solar cells and have built a device on a flexible metal foil optimized with a sodium fluoride doping layer.