Quebec as a big battery for the northeastern US
Researchers at MIT say the immense hydropower resources of the Canadian province could be used as storage to even out the supply of intermittent renewables generation in New England and New York state.
International consortium claims 25% efficiency for perovskite CIGS solar cell
Researchers led by Belgian institute imec claim to have achieved the result with a 1cm² perovskite tandem solar cell. The result tops the 24.6% efficiency the consortium announced in September 2018. The cell’s developers are now aiming for 30%.
Code-based modeling for PV of the future
A British-Nigerian team of researchers claims to have developed a code-based approach for solar modeling and simulation which could facilitate better decisions in PV tech research. The model can reportedly be applied to the study of solar thermodynamics, cell material characteristics, PV system design and power monitoring potential.
Wireless sensing for remote operation of off-grid tracker solar
Researchers in Thailand are proposing a wireless monitoring solution for PV in remote locations. The system, based on global standard ZigBee 2.4 GHz wireless technology, can read data and tilt solar panels in auto and manual modes.
Self-healing polymeric coating for organic PV
A new polymer developed by Indian researchers can mend its own cracks when exposed to ultraviolet light. The unique ability makes it an ideal candidate as a smart coating for photovoltaic solar devices to prevent damages and increase performances.
What’s cooking in Eni’s PV lab?
Researchers at the Italian oil group are trying to improve organic photovoltaics and luminescent solar concentrators and a new supercomputer with sophisticated algorithms will help them with the solar energy puzzle.
How do solar cells work underwater?
Although cells lose much of their power yield when submerged, they may not be useless. Researchers in India say submerged cells could be used in monitoring sensors and for other commercial and defense applications. An amorphous silicon cell from Panasonic was tested in their study.
A multi-level inverter for solar water pumps
Scientists in India have tested a new inverter topology with a single-phase, induction-motor water pump. The seven-level inverter, with five power semiconductor switches, is said to be particularly efficient at reducing switching losses thanks to a pulse width modulation technique.
A graphene-doped tandem perovskite cell with 26.3% efficiency
Italian researchers have added graphene to the titanium dioxide electron selective layer used in a perovskite cell to increase chemical stability. The two-terminal cell was made by stacking two sub-cells which were fabricated and optimized separately.
Moisture-resistant perovskite cell with 22.02% efficiency
Scientists in China have used a fluorine-containing Lewis acid treatment to develop a perovskite cell that is said to retain between 63% and 80% of its initial efficiency after 14 days under 75% and 85% relative humidity.
