North America

An international research team demonstrated that monolithic perovskite-silicon tandem cells do not suffer the same degree of reverse bias degradation that is typically seen in perovskite single junction solar cells under partial shading. They explained that the tandem devices are “protected” by the silicon subcell.

Solar capacity has rapidly grown in the United States, while manufacturing costs have fallen, prompting the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) to predict that PV will generate 14% more electricity than hydroelectric facilities in 2024.

Infinite Turbine has developed a heat pump turbine for residential and commercial applications, using PV or alternative electricity sources for simultaneous cooling and hydraulic power. The tech can be retrofitted with existing CO2 heat pump systems for air conditioning, hot water, and process heat.

An international research group has utilized through-substrate-vias to create 3D interconnections in III-V solar cells with a triple-junction architecture. The novel cell design was found to have a low shading factor of below 3% and a 6-fold increase in wafer area use compared to cells based on 2D interconnects.

Germany, in collaboration with Italy, has revealed plans to import hydrogen from Northern Africa.

Large-scale reconductoring of existing transmission lines could cost-effectively double transmission capacity within existing rights-of-way, a study says. Renewable energy projects near reconductored transmission lines could more easily interconnect.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that, in November, weather patterns have started to resemble the characteristic El Niño signature, with low pressure in the northwest Pacific, and an enhanced subtropical jet stream spreading from the Pacific across the southern United States.

Hail losses in the United States exceeded $1 billion in 2021.

A Swiss company has developed adhesive film that can be applied on solar panels to make them more aesthetically appealing. The film reduces electricity production by between 10% and 30%, but income from advertising could offset such losses.

A group of scientists in the United States has utilized a new passivation strategy based on sulfur-modified methylthio molecules to build an inverted perovskite solar cell with a certified efficiency of 25.1% and remarkable stability. The proposed passivation approach reportedly led to a five-fold increase in carrier lifetime and a three-fold reduction in photoluminescence quantum yield losses.