Novel MPPT methodology uses grey wolf hunting as inspiration
Researchers have developed a maximum power point tracking algorithm based on the social hierarchy and hunting strategy of grey wolves. When tested under realistic shading conditions, the grey wolf optimizer achieved an average MPPT efficiency of 98.15%, significantly outperforming conventional MPPT methods.
Analysis of 6,276 connectors for rooftop PV systems
Sandia National Labs researchers have created a new dataset on the rates and types of rooftop PV connector failures. Their analysis has shown that tight wire bending radius, extra dirty connectors, and loose nuts are the most common failure causes in 6,276 connectors deployed between 2014 and 2017 across seven U.S. regions.
Investigating solar glass quality for recycling in new glass products
A team of Japanese scientists explored how typical PV panel component materials affect the ability to re-use end-of-life PV cover glass. Specifically, they measured contamination by materials, such as aluminum, silicon, carbon, and copper, and their effects in melted PV panel glass cullet.
Self-powered electroluminescence for daylight PV system inspection
Scientists from Spain have developed a daylight electroluminescence method that uses other strings to supply current to the inspected string. It was simulated and then tested in two 50 MW PV plants. Comparative assessment against lab-electroluminescence resulted in acceptable diagnostic performance.
KAUST, Franuhofer ISE announce 33.1%-efficient fully texturized perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell
The fully textured tandem cell achieved an open-circuit voltage of 2.01 V and an “extended” outdoor stability in the Red Sea coast, according to the researchers.
All back-contact perovskite solar cell designs at a glance
Scientists from Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United States have investigated existing back-contact perovskite solar cell architectures and have proposed a strategy to help reach commercial production.
Huasun achieves 34.02% efficiency for perovskite-heterojunction solar cell
The Chinese manufacturer said the result was achieved thanks to new perovskite crystallization additives and high-mobility carrier transport layer materials.
New deep learning tech for PV inverter fault diagnosis
A team of scientists in the United States has combined both spatial and temporal attention mechanisms to develop a new approach for PV inverter fault detection. Training the new method on a dataset created in MATLAB/Simulink, the group has compared it to a series of other data-driven and statistical-based methods and has found accuracy reached 97.35%.
Sungrow debuts 2.5 kW microinverter
The Chinese company said its new microinverter supports four independent MPPT inputs with DC input currents up to 18 A.
All-perovskite PV-powered battery for portable electronics
Scientists have used a dual-functional, material-sharing strategy with ethyl viologen diiodide to achieve synergistic performance enhancement in PV-powered batteries. The system was reportedly able to power a wearable glucose monitor for 24 hours.
