All News

The European Commission has decided to refer three member states to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to turn the EU Renewable Energy Directive into national legislation. The commission is now requesting financial sanctions.

Tony Danker, head of the Confederation of British Industry, in January warned the UK is at risk of squandering the vast economic opportunities available to nations investing in the energy transition. Christophe Williams, CEO of solar thermal company Naked Energy agrees, and here spells out some of the urgent actions Rishi Sunak’s government must take to place solar thermal – and PV – at the heart of a green revolution.

Lightleaf’s new 110 W PV module features monocrystalline solar cells from SunPower Maxeon, with 25.1% efficiency. It has a rigid carbon-fiber foam foundation instead of glass, and weighs just 2.5 kg.

Italian researchers have reviewed different system configurations for photovoltaic-thermal solar-assisted heat pumps in buildings. They say that using the PV-thermal collector as the heat pump’s evaporator results in the highest heat recovery, but a dual-source system with a separate heat exchanger is the most promising solution to cover all thermal needs.

Spanish scientists have created a bifacial thermophotovoltaic cell that reportedly provides high power and efficient energy conversion at moderate temperatures. They say the device can achieve twice the power density of “conventional” monofacial thermophotovoltaic devices without higher system costs.

Australian scientists have developed a new way to make hydrogen directly from seawater. They have described the technology as a critical step to a truly viable green hydrogen industry.

RoyPow introduced a new residential lithium-ferro-phosphate battery this week at Intersolar North America in Long Beach, California.

TrendForce says solar demand could grow by more than 53.4% this year due to lower module prices and delayed projects from 2021 and 2022 that are now going online. China will be the largest market this year with 148.9 GW, followed by the United States with 40.5 GW, India with 17.2 GW, Brazil with 14.2 GW, Germany with 11.8 GW, Spain with 11.4 GW, and Japan with 8 GW.

Enteligent’s new charger, which debuted at Intersolar North America this week, is powered by the sun and eliminates DC-to-AC power conversion.

Researchers in China have successfully prepared cobalt oxide-modified graphite felt as an electrode material for an iron-chromium flow battery. The electrode performance significantly improved due to the effects of cobalt, which in turn boosted the energy efficiency and overall performance of the battery.