solar cell

Scientists in the Netherlands have sought to understand the reason for unexpected gains in vertical PV systems and found that these installations have a much higher heat transfer coefficient than their horizontally deployed counterparts.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo inaugurated a 145 MW floating solar plant in Java this week, while module manufacturer Husaun Energy said it will supply 60 MW of heterojunction solar panels for Grow Energy’s Thailand floating PV projects.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) says it has added new solar module qualification tests and fresh insights to improve intelligent module procurement strategies.

A group of international researchers has developed a new perovskite-silicon solar cell design using a top perovskite PV device with an energy bandgap of 1.67 eV and a new self-assembly monolayer based on carbazole. The tandem cell achieved a higher efficiency compared to counterparts without the monolayer and passed the IEC 61215 standard thermal cycling test.

HoloSolis plans to build Europe’s largest PV factory – a 5 GW solar plant in France – by 2025. Heraeus will provide its latest metallization technologies for the factory and play an active role on the HoloSolis board of directors.

South Korea researchers have developed a cell by merging green algae with carbon nanofibers, in order to generate 9.5 W per cell and achieve a peak efficiency of 0.9%. They claim this is enough to power a micro-generation system for hydrogen production.

Solestial has secured a contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), valued at roughly $849,900, to develop ultra-thin PV for solar blanket wings on next-generation spacecraft.

French startup Koolboks has developed off-grid solar refrigerators that offer continuous refrigeration for up to four days via solar modules, ice storage, and lithium-ion batteries. The units are available for rental and include two LED lighting bulbs and USB ports to charge phones.

A new imaging system for contactless defect detection in roll-to-roll printed thin film solar cell manufacturing lines is available from InfinityPV, a Danish printed electronics equipment manufacturer. The so-called ultrafast laser beam induced current mapping system is suitable for manufacturers of perovskite, organic, kesterite, copper indicum gallium diselenide (CIGS) and amorphous silicon PV foils and can be retrofitted into existing roll-to-roll lines.