Research

UK researchers have developed organic electrode materials to integrate redox-active organic molecules into long-chain polymers. The new electrodes exhibit better cycling performance in lithium-ion batteries, with no apparent capacity decay over more than a thousand charge-discharge cycles.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says that solar could become the backbone of Indonesia’s energy system by 2030. However, the nation’s own expectations are still far off from IRENA’s scenarios.

Dutch scientists have achieved a record-breaking efficiency for a silicon heterojunction solar cell fabricated with a hole collector based on a molybdenum oxide (MoOx). They used plasma treatments to increase the presence of oxygen in the MoOx layer, to improve its electronic properties.

An Israeli scientist has proposed a way to achieve uninterrupted PV power on the moon without using energy storage. The proposal involves the installation of PV panels around a 360-degree latitudinal ring close to one of the moon’s poles. There would be no inter-array shading, and static vertical PV arrays and arrays mounted on single-axis vertical trackers could be viable mounting structures.

Aspen Creek Digital, a US bitcoin miner, has started operations at a 30 MW bitcoin data center powered by an 87 MW solar park in Texas. The project is the company’s second solar-powered bitcoin-mining center.

Norwegian consulting firm Rystad Energy has described the Iberian Peninsula as “a new European energy powerhouse.” It expects Spain and Portugal to reach 79% renewables in their combined electricity mix by 2030.

In an unexpected move, the government of Thailand has introduced a feed-in-tariff (FIT) of THB 2,1679 ($0.057)/kWh over 25 years for solar and a 25-year FIT of THB 2,8331/kWh for solar plus storage.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) says in a new report that PV module lifetime extensions should be prioritized over closed-loop recycling to reduce demand for new materials.

A roof-mounted air source heat pump has reportedly been installed for the first time in the United Kingdom, as part of a pilot project at the University of Salford. The performance of the 200 kg Bosch 3400i Hydrotop will be compared to a similar unit mounted on the wall of a home.

A consortium of Singaporean universities and companies will study the feasibility of integrating a hybrid floating solar project with ocean, tidal, and wind capacity. If successful, the parties plan to deploy a pilot system with at least 100 MW of renewables capacity.