US energy storage facility knocked offline after batteries overheat
The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California, which became operational in December 2020, has gone offline after overheating. The system features lithium-ion batteries from LG Energy Solution. Fire crews found scorched battery racks and melted wires.
Designer bacteria for energy storage
A group of biologists in the United States working with a bacteria discovered a mechanism that could be used to convert electricity into biofuels or other useful substances. With better understanding of the genetics, the group says the mechanism could rival hydrogen for the storage of renewable energy.
Co-evaporated perovskite solar cell with 19.5% efficiency
German scientists have built a perovskite solar cell with spiro-TTB as a hole transport material, via the thermal co-evaporation method. The solar cell has an open-circuit voltage of 1.08 V, a fill factor of 83.0%, and a short-circuit current of 21.6 mA cm.
WTO dispute panel rejects China’s claims in CSPV import dispute with the U.S.
The panel rejected all four claims against the U.S. relating to safeguard measures that the Trump administration imposed on solar panels imported from China.
EDF inks PPA for 300 MW/600 MWh solar-plus-storage project in the US
The Desert Quartzite Solar+Storage Project is in Riverside County, California, and could enter service in early 2024.
Perovskites can also detect nuclear radiation
Scientists in Switzerland found that perovskites can be used to detect thermal neutrons emitted by radioactive devices. Taking advantage of several properties that also make the materials attractive for solar cell applications, the group was able to fabricate a novel device that could have various practical applications, including in energy generation.
High-voltage non-aqueous hybrid flow battery with novel chemistry
US scientists claim to have created a crossover-free, high-voltage, non-aqueous hybrid flow battery with a novel chemistry for the solid sodium anode. The device has shown a high working voltage of around 2.6 V and a coulombic efficiency of 95.0%.
US solar panel shipments rose 33% in 2020
Solar PV module shipments reached a record high in the U.S. market in 2020, up 33% year on year.
Juno Solar starts operations with 418 MW of capacity
Juno Solar is one of five projects that SB Energy is building this year, with an additional 1.3 GW scheduled to go online over the next seven months.
Measuring impacts, whatever the weather
Scientists in the United States used machine learning to analyze maintenance reports, performance data and weather records from more than 800 solar farms located across the country. The analysis allowed them to determine which weather conditions have the biggest impact on PV generation, and to suggest the most effective ways to boost the resilience of PV installations to extreme weather events.
