All News

Measuring the performance of a solar cell is a tricky affair, and even more so for new technologies such as perovskites and tandem cells. In the laboratory, these are measured over a period of several minutes to ensure accurate characterization. But as technology continues its journey toward commercial production, ensuring an accurate power rating without slowing down the manufacturing process presents a new challenge both for suppliers of flash testing equipment and those working on bringing perovskite solar cells and tandem devices featuring them to market.

Scientists in South Korea have worked with graphene and carbon nanotubes to develop a working lithium-ion battery that can be stretched by up to 50% without damage to any of the components. According to the scientists, the battery represents a significant step in the development of wearable or body-implantable electronic devices.

In March alone, 368 MW of new PV capacity was deployed, representing an increase of just 18 MW from the same month a year earlier.

In terms of new solar installations, China was the world’s largest PV market for the third year in a row with 30.1 GW of fresh capacity in the 12 months to the end of December, followed by the United States with 13.3 GW and Japan with 7.7 GW.

Chinese solar manufacturers Seraphim and Lu’An Solar will invest around $565 million in the new factory.

“As we suffer through one health and environmental crisis after another, it is clear we can no longer simply solar-panel-and-windmill our way out of this emergency,” say producer Michael Moore and author Jeff Gibbs.

The country’s cumulative installed rooftop solar capacity reached 5.4 GW by the end of December. The Indian government now aims to deploy 40 GW of rooftop PV by the end of 2023.

Solar and wind are expected to account for a growing share of the electricity mix in the years ahead, rising from around 3% at present to 23% by 2030. Over the following two decades after that, however, this share will likely remain unchanged, as the national regulator expects the country to deploy more coal-fired generation capacity.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) claims that the country already has the technical ability to safely operate a system in which three-quarters of the electricity comes from wind and solar. However, it needs to get the regulations right in order to do so.

Developers have until June 30 to lodge bids to develop plots of solar capacity across the national rail network which offer a maximum INR2.71/kWh ($0.036) for the electricity generated under a 25-year contract.