Technology

A new process is described as a tool to assess the value of deferring, relocating, or abandoning PV projects under development in uncertain market conditions. It reportedly allows accommodating different sources of uncertainties with different stochastic features, as well as accounting for the various managerial flexibilities embedded in most solar projects.

Massimo Albino Russo, head of business development for Enerqos Energy Solutions, recently spoke with pv magazine Italy about its smart O&M service to detect dysfunctions in solar arrays hit by hail. The Ameresco Group subsidiary uses drones and artificial intelligence to deal with PV system damage.

Aerocompact, an Austrian manufacturer, has unveiled a ‘universal’ mounting system for pitched roofs that reduces assembly times by up to 40%. It features colored cover plates in red, brown, or anthracite.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has been awarded $35 million in funding from NASA to improve the company’s commercial solution that produces silicon from lunar regolith. The US spatial agency’s first efforts to build solar cells based on lunar regolith date back to 2005.

Weidmüller USA, a manufacturer of electrical connectivity solutions, has introduced new PV DC Combiner Box models for large-scale PV systems in the US.

A Colorado farmer has installed vertical bifacial solar, leveraging greenhouse albedo to increase output. The installation demonstrates promising generation during winter months, while maximizing limited land space.

Scientists in Korea examined the parameters of laser ‘scribe and break’ processes used to cut silicon cells, in search of optimizations to reduce damage caused at the cut edges. They also found that varying encapsulant thickness or even adding a supportive rail across the back of a module can help reduce performance loss caused by cell cutting damage.

Spanish researchers have defined practical guidelines for short-term ground-based albedo measurements that reportedly entail a maximum of 1.5% yield uncertainty contribution for utility scale bifacial solar PV plants.

GCL-Si says it has commissioned a new 20 GW solar cell factory that will supply n-type TOPCon cells to its module facilities in Hefei, Anhui province, and Funing, Jiangsu province.

A research team in China combined solar power generation from kesterite thin-film generation with a nickel-cobalt bimetal oxide (NiCoO2) electrochromic window. The proposed prototype not only realizes the function integration of self-power and intelligent solar radiation adjustment, but also extends its function to energy storage.