Technology

The US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon has revealed 105 teams from 93 collegiate institutions for its 2024 Design Challenge. The competitors will develop high-performance, zero-energy buildings.

Seven Indian developers secured 1.184 GW of cumulative capacity in an SJVN auction for 1.5 GW of firm, dispatchable power. The winning developers will build renewable energy projects supplemented with storage systems across India.

PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) says it has added new solar module qualification tests and fresh insights to improve intelligent module procurement strategies.

A group of international researchers has developed a new perovskite-silicon solar cell design using a top perovskite PV device with an energy bandgap of 1.67 eV and a new self-assembly monolayer based on carbazole. The tandem cell achieved a higher efficiency compared to counterparts without the monolayer and passed the IEC 61215 standard thermal cycling test.

Optimizing PV systems in partial shading conditions presents a multifaceted challenge, demanding a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between power electronics and PV technology. Shading scenarios exert a significant influence on system performance, with practical insights tailored to various shading conditions, offering guidance for stakeholders in PV planning. Collaborative efforts within the PV industry are directed at enhancing planning tools, seeking to streamline and improve the accuracy of PV system designs, and ultimately contribute to a more sustainable energy future.

Scientists in the UK have utilized data from two different satellites – Sentinel-2 and MODIS – to develop a new and more accurate approach to estimated albedo for bifacial PV systems in complex landscapes. The novel methodology reportedly achieved a much lower normalized root mean square error than reference methods relying on MODIS only.

HoloSolis plans to build Europe’s largest PV factory – a 5 GW solar plant in France – by 2025. Heraeus will provide its latest metallization technologies for the factory and play an active role on the HoloSolis board of directors.

South Korea researchers have developed a cell by merging green algae with carbon nanofibers, in order to generate 9.5 W per cell and achieve a peak efficiency of 0.9%. They claim this is enough to power a micro-generation system for hydrogen production.

LG has formed a partnership with the University of Alaska Anchorage to conduct lab research and perform real-world testing of heat pump technologies, with a particular focus on Alaska’s extreme temperatures.

Store Norske Energi AS has installed a PV system in the Svalbard archipelago, the last inhabited strip of land before the North Pole. The company told pv magazine that the system could reduce the use of fossil fuels by 70% and potentially become a model for the Arctic transition to renewables.