photovoltaic

German startup Nexol has developed a photovoltaic water heating system that relies on a smart controller, with either DC and AC power. It decides autonomously if grid electricity or PV is used, with the latter always preferred.

OCI will supply polysilicon from its manufacturing facility in Malaysia, which is expected to have an annual capacity of 35,000 metric tons by the end of June.

Japan’s Kopel has developed a device with a thickness of just 1.2 mm, with contacts on all of the finger electrodes of busbar-less solar cells.

Global solar supply chain issues and the Chinese energy crisis, which hit in the second half of last year, have ironically led to a “massive” oversupply of solar panels in Australia, according to major distributors. The tension between higher global panel costs and the glut of them within Australia has led to some messy pricing and strange market dynamics on the ground.

Scientists in Germany and Switzerland have developed a perovskite solar cell with a carbon electrode that achieved 18.5% efficiency. It also retained 82% of this after 500 hours of continuous illumination. While a long way behind what has been achieved with other perovskite solar devices, the cell is produced via all low-temperature processes that could likely be scaled into low-cost, large-scale manufacturing – making the approach one worth pursuing further.

US-based CubicPV will supply 1 GW of Direct Wafer silicon solar cells per year to Indian manufacturer Waaree Energies under a five-year contract. The cells will be supplied from its upcoming 2 GW factory in India.

The Iranian authorities have kicked off a tender to select development proposals for solar projects up to 10 MW in size, from both domestic and foreign investors.

France’s environmental agency Ademe has released a set of new guidelines that clearly define “agrivoltaics.”

A new report shows that the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh accounted for two-thirds of India’s 65 GW shortfall on its 175 GW renewable energy target, as of March.

Solar might be more efficient than nuclear energy to supply power for a six-person extended mission to Mars that will involve a 480-day stay on the planet’s surface before returning to Earth, according to new US research.