Hybrid photovoltaic-tidal energy system for island resorts
Scientists in India have proposed to combine solar PV with tidal energy and storage to cover the entire electricity demand of island resorts. They found the system could help to reduce energy costs for residents and businesses.
Japanese scientists design flexible crystalline silicon solar modules with PET front cover
The new solar panels have flexible properties and are suitable for roofs with loading restrictions. According to their creators, the modules showed high reliability under both high temperature and high humidity conditions.
Sol-Bright introduces automated robotic cleaning system for utility-scale solar
China’s Sol-Bright Technology has developed a sixth-generation automated robotic cleaning system for solar panels in utility-scale PV installations. The robot features gear transmission and has a cleaning efficiency of minimum 99.5%.
Integrating sky images, global solar irradiance into solar forecasting algorithms
A research team in the United States has created a novel approach to integrate raw sky images and global solar irradiance measurements, solar nowcasting, and intra-hour forecasting. The methodology utilizes low-cost radiometric IR cameras instead of expensive ceilometers.
Mitsubishi testing 5.5 MW pressurized alkaline electrolyzers in Japan, Norway
Mitsubishi has conducted short-term validation tests of its 5.5 MW pressurized alkaline electrolyzers in Norway and long-term validation tests in Japan. It plans to incorporate the design of these two single-stack pressurized alkaline electrolyzers into a US project.
Loom Solar unveils 5 kWh/10 kWh storage system
India’s Loom Solar has developed an Internet of Things (IoT)-based, all-in-one energy storage solution for homes and businesses, featuring lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.
Kenya’s first hybrid solar-hydro plant goes online
Located near Nairobi, the project consists of a 150 kW solar array, a 50 kW crossflow turbine and a 240 KWh storage facility. SolarNow director and CFO Ernst Vriesendorp told pv magazine that despite the project’s humble size, it has ‘large’ benefits.
Bslbatt introduces high-voltage battery for residential PV
China’s Bslbatt says its new batteries feature individual battery modules with voltages of 102.4 V and a capacity of 52 Ah. They can be stacked in series with two to seven battery modules.
Reducing solar module temperature via dew-point evaporative cooling
Japanese scientists have designed a cooling system that reduces the solar panel operating temperature at the air inlet of the module. It consists of a dew-point evaporative cooler that supplies the near-saturation air to wet air channels that are attached to the back of a PV panel.
Sodium-seawater batteries for short, long-term stationary energy storage
Italian researchers studied sodium-seawater batteries (SWBs) for short- and long-term energy storage on Sardinia and found that SWBs with wave energy smoothed out power fluctuations, while enabling a fully decarbonized power generation system over the long run.
