Exciting excitons
A research team from Columbia University has designed organic molecules that can produce excitons with a longer lifecycle than inorganic equivalents. The excitons have the potential to amplify the amount of electricity generated by the photons a solar cell absorbs.
Power deal signed for 230 MW solar plant in Chile
Atlas Renewable Energies has agreed to provide the Chilean unit of French energy giant Engie with 550 GWh annually for 15 years. The electricity will be supplied by the Sol del Desierto project Atlas is building in northern Chile.
Commercial solar at grid parity in China but a hard line is needed on soft costs
Deploying commercial and industrial PV in China without subsidy is already profitable in some areas, according to a new study, but prohibitive soft costs and cheap electricity are the main barriers for such installations in areas where grid parity remains out of reach.
Nanowire mesh offers better cell performance and lower costs
A new method of creating an ordered mesh of nanowires, developed by scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States, could lead to the creation of more efficient transparent electrode layers in solar cells – and the elimination of a rare material from the manufacturing process.
Thinktank says India must prioritize a vertically integrated solar supply chain
To develop cost-competitive solar modules the nation must adopt a phased program and set up 15 GW of silicon-ingot-to-solar-module manufacturing capacity by 2024, according to The Energy and Resources Institute.
UK energy company loses license over unpaid renewables obligations
URE Energy repeatedly missed deadlines to settle a £209,000 bill after it failed to source enough of the electricity it supplied two years ago from renewable generation.
UPC/AC Renewables invest in 550 MW of pumped hydro and solar in Australia
AC Renewables, the energy arm of Philippines’ Ayala Corp, and Australia’s UPC Renewables have agreed to buy 51% in a 250 MW pumped hydro project and a neighboring 300 MW solar project, both located in South Australia.
The tide is changing for ground-mounted PV in Ireland
Ireland appears ready to embrace PV after years of failed announcements. Globaldata predicts the EU member state will deploy around 1.3 GW of solar by 2030, with renewables potentially meeting 65% of electricity demand. Furthermore, Irish Water has announced it wants to deploy solar at its water treatment plants.
Lithium-ion batteries still set for US tariffs on September 1
The energy storage market is set to be the latest affected by Trump’s trade war as lithium-ion batteries were excluded from the group of Chinese imports for which the U.S. president announced tariffs would be delayed until December 15.
A new spectroscopic method to understand the physical principles of organic PV
A German research team claims to have created a new visualization technique it says can enable detailed mapping of the energetic landscapes of organic PV cells on a nano scale. The technique could lead to organic cells with reduced power losses.
