solar modules

Frank van Mierlo, the CEO of 1366 Technologies, is a betting man. And he’s betting your humble narrator that high-efficiency tandem solar cells are the near-term commercial future of solar.

A new report published by the European Technology and Innovation Platform outlines the need for continuing research into the reliability of PV systems and components, and for the collection and sharing of performance data. The report recommends a holistic approach to reliability, going beyond current testing standards to identify new degradation mechanisms, and making use of sensors and drone imaging to monitor systems in the field to prevent and report on system failures.

New outdoor tests conducted at Saudi research center King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have shown that an increase in temperature affects the performance of a tandem perovskite/silicon solar cell not only because of voltage losses but also because of current mismatch between the two sub-cells.

Spanish PV software specialist RatedPower has developed a new algorithm that purportedly offers a way to efficiently design grid interconnections.

Scientists in Europe took a very close look at the thin amorphous silicon layers used in heterojunction and tandem solar cells, building a full picture of the material’s structure at the nanoscale. Their findings could help scientists solve the long-standing mystery of light induced degradation.

The Japanese gas provider wants to acquire a 63.2 MW solar plant in Japan and a 631 MW PV facility in the United States. It has issued a JPY 10 billion ($95.9 million) green bond to finance these transactions and support its other operations.

The Spanish government has introduced new rules to procure renewables via auctions. It will hold its third auction by the end of this year.

South Australia has integrated 50% renewables into its grid and is managing a vast fleet of distributed rooftop PV resources. Now it’s seeking investors to potentially fuel the world with green hydrogen.

Norwegian researchers have quantified the cooling effect of water in direct contact with floating PV arrays. They tested a computational fluid dynamics model to estimate U-values and used it on a 6 kW floating system deployed by Ocean Sun.

China’s largest PV manufacturers claim limits placed on solar glass production two years ago, to prevent over production, are now causing an industry bottleneck.