Solar PV

Recycling is of significant importance in a circular economy, yet some challenges have to be faced when recycling PV modules. The novel Hot Knife method to separate the crystalline silicon photovoltaic module front glass from the backsheet contributes only a few permill to the life cycle related potential environmental impacts of PV electricity.

Indian scientists have suggested building pumped-hydro storage systems connected to solar plants using mines as the lower reservoir and nearby rivers as the upper reservoir. They claim that the proposed combination may reach a levelized cost of energy of $0.2693/kWh.

The Fraunhofer ISE has developed an electro-optically optimized transparent conductive oxide layer that can reportedly improve the efficiency of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. A device built with the film achieved remarkable efficiency and fill factor.

Overirradiance conditions may affect the operating performance of photovoltaic plants, the stability of the electrical grid, and the efficiency of inverters. A research team has warned these effects are currently not being given proper consideration by the solar industry.

New research from the United Kingdom claims that ground mounted PV facilities have a negative effect on bat activity. According to the scientists, the panels may be causing some bats to alter their flight paths, potentially resulting in further fragmentation of the ecological landscape.

Masdar submitted the lowest bid of $0.0162154/kWh in the procurement exercise. The total capacity of the solar energy projects commissioned at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park has reached 2,427MW.

The model utilizes deep learning and image processing techniques and is said to offer “superior performance.” In the future, it might be able to differ between panels of PV and solar thermal systems.

Solar pre-cooling consists of using residential PV systems to run air conditioners to pre-cool residential and commercial buildings. It offers benefits in terms of mitigating low minimum demand in electricity networks, flattening the grid’s net demand profile, and reducing electricity bills.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, presents the solar irradiance data it collected for South America in July. The data show that South America experienced temperatures up to 15 C above winter averages, and that most of the continent saw higher than normal radiation. The Chilean Andine, especially Altiplano in the Atacama Desert, which has recorded the highest incidence of irradiance in the world, recorded values 10% above normal.

Minera Exar has started to extract lithium from the Salar Cauchari-Olaroz mine in Argentina, with part of its energy supply coming from the 100 MW Zonda solar farm, which is owned by oil producer YPF Luz.