Solar

The record efficiency was achieved by engineering the cell with reduced copper(II) oxide (CuO) and copper (Cu) impurities in the thin-film deposition. It showed an open-circuit voltage of 1.13 V, a short-circuit current of 10.63 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 0.696. 

Through three different transactions, AES acquired Community Energy Solar, Stem Inc bought AlsoEnergy, and Enphase took over 365 Pronto.

Rooftop installations to the end of September were at their highest for a nine-month period. The nation’s cumulative rooftop PV generation capacity had reached 6.7 GW by that point.

As Australia stares down a deluge of worn out solar panels, recycling – and indeed upcycling – programs are grinding into gear. In Victoria, a site has been found for Australia’s first facility to recover and reuse solar module materials, while Reclaim PV has extended its manufacturer partner and pickup location lists.

The French government has allocated 324 MW in its latest procurement exercise. Average prices were €76.66/MWh for large power plants (500 kWp-8 MWp) and €87.25/MWh for projects below 500 kWp.

The polysilicon maker has announced it wants to build another factory in in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia. Elsewhere, the National Energy Administration has said new PV installations for the first 11 months of the year totaled 34.83 GW.

The 600 kW array was built by Sungrow with 540 W solar panels and its own floating structures.

Germany’s TÜV Rheinland is investigating how photovoltaics could be used for powering railway traction networks in a 14-month research project.

Researchers from Tokyo Tech have developed an alternative to hydrogen energy storage which is smaller in size and more efficient. The system utilizes carbon as an energy source and demonstrates superior power density and charge-discharge efficiency of 38% over 10 cycles.

Italian manufacturer Solarday has launched a glass-glass building-integrated monocrystalline PERC panel available in red, green, gold and grey color. Its power conversion efficiency is 17.98% and its temperature coefficient is -0.39% per degree Celsius.