Harvesting atmospheric water to cool down PV panels
Scientists from Saudi Arabia have proposed a new PV panel cooling technique which employs an atmospheric water harvester. The device uses waste heat from the PV panel to collect atmospheric water at night and then releases it during the day to cool down the module. The researchers claim the device may also be improved to produce liquid water, which could be used for the cleaning of the modules.
Flexible, 22.6%-efficient perovskite cells for indoor use
The developers of a perovskite device designed for use under illumination of 100-500 lux say it could be manufactured for $78-108 per square meter.
Solar canopies can put PV panels in some new and interesting places
A major advantage of this design is the ability to string cables over a longer distance without the support needed in traditional racking approaches.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: New capacity expansion plans and 100 MW of PV for a poverty-alleviation project
Three major Chinese PV manufacturers have announced capacity expansion plans over the past week. Chint also released its 2019 financial results, while Kstar unveiled a new inverter supply deal.
Strong Q1 for First Solar, Enphase, Sunrun
U.S. residential solar installer Sunrun reported strong solar deployments and revenue to start 2020, even with orders decreasing by as much as 40% for periods in March. Micro-inverter manufacturer Enphase’s first-quarter revenues exceeded expectations as the company set an all-time gross margin record and announced plans for a new manufacturing location.
French solar equipment supplier touts fully automated production line
Startup Solean claims that its new fully automated production equipment offers a highly flexible way to bring panel manufacturing back to Europe.
Solar module quality control measures in an age of Covid-19
Asier Ukar, director of the Spanish unit of German technical advisory PI Berlin, tells pv magazine about his experiences of conducting quality control inspections in Chinese factories during the global pandemic.
Uzbekistan pitches for 5 GW of solar by 2030
The country’s previous solar target was 4 GW by 2031. Around 1.4 GW of large scale projects are expected to be tendered this year, according to a document published by the Ministry of Energy.
Power-to-heat-to-power storage for rooftop PV
Scientists in Spain have assessed the viability of ‘power-to-heat-to-power storage’ in a residential solar installation in Madrid. The technology could reduce electricity bills by more than 70% and would have a 12 to 15-year payback period, according to the researchers.
Solar driving efficient electrochemical water treatment
Researchers from the United States have investigated how solar could help electrochemical methods for water treatment become more competitive. The scientists analyzed how electrochemical technologies such as electrocoagulation, capacitive deionization, electrodialysis, and electrodeionization may be combined with solar power generation.
