Floating PV deployed at quarry in France
Sorégies has built a 2.7 MW floating PV array at a quarry in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
Tender launched for utility-scale floating PV in Brazil
The state of São Paulo’s energy supplier is seeking proposals for four floating solar projects, ranging in size from 1 MW to 30 MW.
PV-powered reverse osmosis for wastewater treatment
Moroccan scientists have tested reverse osmosis paired with PV generation to maximize chlorophenol rejection in wastewater treatment. They said the tech combination can help to reduce energy consumption.
Bifacial perovskite solar cells may become more eco friendly than crystalline ones
A US study has suggested the raised energy yield of bifacial perovskite devices effectively means they could have a lower environmental impact than conventional crystalline cells. The researchers considered single-junction cells with high and low bandgaps and similar, multi-junction devices with two and four-terminal structures.
Additive allows all-perovskite tandems to hit 24.2% efficiency
Scientists led by China’s Nanjing University discovered that a chemical commonly used for bleaching in the textile industry can also serve as a performance-boosting additive to mixed lead/tin perovskite thin films. Using this additive, they were ultimately able to fabricate a two perovskite tandem cell measuring 1.05cm² that achieved 24.2% efficiency.
US corporate solar market reaches 8 GW
The new Solar Means Business report by the Solar Energy Industries Association indicates that low prices and climate change commitments are driving corporate interest in solar and storage. Apple, Amazon and Walmart lead the list of top players.
Investigating bifacial for floating PV
Scientists led by the University of Ontario modeled the performance of bifacial modules in floating PV applications, finding that in a north/south orientation at a 30 degree angle, the modules could receive as much as 55% more sunlight than a monofacial module in the same setup.
Austrian agrivoltaic project includes sheep farming
Maxsolar is building a ground-mounted, 11.5 MW solar plant near Wien where 150 Jura will graze.
Copper metallization process reaches pilot production in Germany
Scientists led by staff from Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE have demonstrated a new laser printing process in pilot production, which could replace silver paste and screen printing in solar cell manufacturing. The system is said to offer much more flexibility in the layout of contact fingers on the cell surface and a wider choice of metallization materials.
Improving outdoor I-V curve measurements with PV module irradiance sensors
Japanese scientists have replaced common pyranometers with PV module irradiance sensors to measure the I-V curves of crystalline silicon PV modules. The sensors provide highly precise outdoor measurements, the researchers said.
