Technology

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.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have developed a solar desalinator with high water output, via a multi-stage system of evaporators and condensers. It offers cost-effective solar desalination, making solar-produced drinking water cheaper than tap water for the first time.

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.

A research team in Spain has developed an hourly mathematical model that reportedly allows for the optimal management of grid-connected renewable generation facilities and pumped hydro-energy storage with reversible pump turbine. The scientists tested the model on a potential pumped hydro-solar-wind complex in northern Spain and found that the combination of the three technologies may achieve considerable savings.

The global solar industry employed around 5 million people at the end of last year, according to recently published employment report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Despite this optimistic statistic, the female experience in the industry is “uneven” as women are mostly hired for administrative work (58%) and an even slimmer margin (13%) hold senior positions.

Brazil’s Fortlev Solar has created a new polyethylene mounting structure to significantly cut installation times. It weighs 15 kg and uses the weight of natural and manmade materials for anchoring, rather than relying solely on fixed supports.

Jaebin Choe, renewables permitting team researcher at environmental advocacy organization Solutions for our Climate (SFOC), told pv magazine that some South Korean regional governments have been forced to pass exceptional clauses to allow the construction of solar PV arrays in their municipalities despite federal recommendations. The association claims this represents the ‘biggest bottleneck’ in the country’s solar pursual.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, speaking at the European Heat Pump Association’s (EHPA) Heat Pump Forum this week, has reaffirmed the European Union’s commitment to decarbonizing heat.