Solar changing shape of electricity prices in Northern Europe
Rising volumes of photovoltaic project capacity are increasing the incidence of negative price periods for electricity–and changing the times of day when they occur.
Fraunhofer ISE develops front/back solar cell with 26.0% efficiency
The cell showed open-circuit voltage values of up to 732 mV. It was fabricated with a back junction (BJ) design with a full-area p-n-junction at the back surface.
French company unveils new rooftop PV mounting method
Axter, a French waterproofing specialist, has revealed a new mounting process for the installation of rigid solar modules on several types of buildings, including concrete, metal, and wood surfaces.
Pilot project to couple wind and solar with heat pumps in Germany
The Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH) is testing if renewables can cover 80% of electricity and heating demand combined in some town districts in southern Germany.
Vehicle-integrated PV for light commercial vehicles
A German consortium is building a light commercial truck prototype powered by 10 PV modules featuring Meyer Burger’s heterojunction cells. Initial estimates suggest that the panels could cover more than 25% of a vehicle’s total annual driving distance, and researcher Robby Peibst told pv magazine that the vehicle-integrated photovoltaic market could hit 5 GW by 2030.
Italy launches first solar energy community in social housing project
An energy community in northern Italy will integrate a PV installation with a storage system to power 48 households of a social housing project and a fleet of rented electric vehicles. It is a collective effort that could be replicable as soon as 2023.
Nickel-salen for a battery that charges in 10 seconds
Scientists in Russia introduce a promising new material for battery energy storage, the product of more than three years of research. Incorporating a nickel-salen polymer into the cathode, the group demonstrated a battery that can charge and discharge ten times faster than today’s lithium-ion batteries. And though the battery still lags in terms of overall capacity, the group is confident that its discovery will lead to big improvements for lithium batteries.
Waterproofed: new cable testing, standard for Floating PV
Join this upcoming pv magazine Webinar to learn about the outlook for floating PV (FPV) and challenges facing investors; the TÜV 2Pfg 2750 standard, and the first certified water-resistant PV DC cable according to the new standard.
Work begins on green hydrogen storage cavern in Sweden
Vattenfall, SSAB and LKAB are building a rock cavern storage facility in a coastal city in northern Sweden. The 100-cubic-meter facility will be built 30 meters below ground and will begin storing green hydrogen next year.
P-type TOPCon solar cell with 21.2% efficiency
Fraunhofer ISE scientists have identified the best metallization pastes to help reduce contact resistivity and contact recombination in p-type TOPCon solar cells. They applied a silicon nitride layer through plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition onto both sides of a cell.
