Magazine Archive 07 & 08 2025

Every advancement in photovoltaic noise barrier (PVNB) technology presents a compelling case for integrating solar into urban life. PV can offer added efficiency gains to noise-blocking structures by generating clean energy in locations where space for traditional ground-mounted solar is limited.

The impact of PV on rural landscapes is an emotive issue, but good evidence is emerging that when managed correctly, solar farms can enhance biodiversity. At Lancaster University, the impact of solar installations on ecosystems is a key area of research – pv magazine caught up with the researchers uncovering how PV affects plants, pollinators, soil health and more.

Electric vehicles now match and in some cases exceed the performance and reliability of internal combustion engine vehicles. Today, the most serious barrier to adoption is not EVs themselves, but deficiencies in charging infrastructure. Paired Power CEO Tom McCalmont explains how solar power and the right software could solve key challenges facing charger networks.

Accurately measuring the performance of perovskite solar cells and modules requires significant modifications to long-established testing standards used in silicon PV. Researchers are settling on methods that rely on up to several minutes of constant light exposure and other time-consuming procedures. These may be fine for the laboratory setting, but those looking to produce this technology at scale need standardized methods that can characterize cells and modules at a much faster rate.

George Touloupas, vice president of ESG and new services at Clean Energy Associates (CEA), and Huatian Xu, CEA’s director of technology and quality, analyze the May and June 2025 results from the pv magazine test outdoor installation in Yinchuan, China.

At several sites in southwestern England, Cornish Lithium is moving forward with plans to produce lithium hydroxide, ready to supply the battery industry from both hard rock mining and extraction from geothermal brine. With planning permission in place for expanded drilling and a commercial production facility, the company is exploring supply agreements with battery companies, as well as potential opportunities to supply geothermal heat and potable water to the local population.

Michigan is the birthplace of the American auto, home to the US car industry since the early 20th century. With automotive manufacturing in other parts of the world sprinting forward, the US auto industry is idling, flickering between go and stop like a drained battery. Can electric vehicles (EVs) drive a new renaissance for the industry?

Germany’s energy industry changed when its Renewable Energy Sources Act came into force on April 1, 2000. It introduced a feed-in tariff for renewables and laid the foundations for a quarter century of progress for solar. Despite many disagreements, and the seven amendments that have followed since, few would dispute its significance in Germany and beyond. Twenty-five years later, and the current discussions in German parliament could soon decide the EEG’s future. These could frame the law as a model for the future, or as an obsolete set of ideas best left in the past.