Solar Cells

Researchers in Iran have identified new ways to design perovskite quantum dot solar cells via a series of simulations. They investigated, in particular, how the perovskite absorbers can be gauged in order to enhance their electro-optical properties.

The Mauritian government’s Central Electricity Board (CEB) is inviting consultancy firms to pitch their bids on conducting a feasibility study into developing a 30 MW floating solar PV farm at Tamarind Falls Reservoir in the archipelago’s southwest.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Power and Energy is now welcoming expressions of interest for the development of ground-mounted or floating solar PV projects – ranging from 1 MW to 5 MW – at three substations in the country. Selected developers will secure a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The scientists built the device by depositing multiple metal nanofilms on both sides using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The cell achieved an open-circuit voltage of 684 mV, a short-circuit current density of 38.2 mA/cm2 and a fill factor of 80.8%.

A French-Spanish research team developed organic photovoltaic modules embedded into plastic parts through high throughput injection molding. The researchers injected thermoplastic polyurethane in the modules and found it enhances their mechanical stability while keeping a high flexibility.

Encouraged by lab results and a feasibility study, Swedish startup, Green14, in collaboration with Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) plans to build a pilot-scale reactor to make solar grade silicon with a hydrogen plasma process. The company sees the pilot as a step towards using a more sustainable method to produce solar grade silicon for the PV industry at its own gigawatt-scale plant.

SolarPower Europe’s board members have issued a joint statement calling for three measures to safeguard the European solar industry, as they claim that tariffs and trade barriers are not viable solutions.

A research team in Bangladesh has simulated a perovskite-CIGS PV device that can reportedly achieve a remarkable tandem cell voltage of 2.48 V. The proposed method is also applicable for tandem cells composed of other materials.

‘It is a project that stands as an example of energy transition,’ Duarte Bello, CEO of EDP Renewables’ Europe and Latin America operations told pv magazine. The new 200 MW solar PV plant is now generating energy on a former brown open-pit lignite site.

Tongwei Solar’s entry into the Australian solar market has triggered disruption in recent months, amplified by the ongoing global decline in panel prices, which solar analyst Warwick Johnston says has yet to fully affect the country.