Europe’s largest battery project gets approval in the UK
U.K.-based energy company InterGen has received planning permission to deploy 320 MW/640 MWh of capacity at a logistics park near London. The storage complex is planned to provide fast-reacting power and system balancing with an initial, two-hour duration.
The unstoppable trajectory of photovoltaic water pumps
Scientists in Russia have analyzed the most important technological advances achieved for solar water pumps over the past decades and have indicated the roadmap that future research should follow to expand their use and application.
India and Israel to work together on perovskite solar cells and lithium sulfur batteries
Low-cost batteries and novel perovskite materials are among the topics selected for joint research and development.
Large-scale PV plant planning for weak power grids
Researchers in New Zealand have developed a new methodology for solar park planning that considers clear-sky radiation for voltage stability analysis. It is based on two different generation profiles for separate purposes.
New manufacturing process for 15.5% efficient perovskite solar panels
Stanford scientists have used a robotic device with two nozzles to quickly produce thin films of perovskite. With these films, they have manufactured perovskite cells and modules with efficiencies of 18% and 15.5%, respectively. According to them, this technique may enable the production of perovskite modules at a cost of around $0.25 per square foot.
Ever heard of photovoltatronics, the new frontier of solar in urban environments?
Scientists in the Netherlands are planning to build intelligent PV devices for energy and information applications. Their intention is to make this approach a new field of PV research, whose ultimate goal is enabling solar cells to communicate with each other and with other devices, ensuring that all the generated energy ends up exactly where it’s needed, especially in the urban environment.
DSM unveils ‘all purpose’ polyolefin-based backsheet for PV panels
Dutch materials specialist DSM launched a new polyolefin-based backsheet that is claimed to have outstanding UV and abrasion resistance as well as good moisture barrier and hydrolysis resistance.
Online algorithm to estimate open-circuit voltage in PV systems
The new technique, proposed by researchers in Pakistan, is claimed to estimate the voltage, current and temperature of a PV system without interrupting the power flow to load.
Carbon nanotubes in search of a solar niche
A group of German scientists has analyzed the possible trajectory of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in photovoltaic research and industry and has suggested a roadmap to bring this technology closer to mass production. Despite a large number of challenges, the academics predicted a brilliant future for CNTs in PV applications, explaining that the barriers to their adoption are constantly being reduced.
Indoor solar cells based on lead-free perovskite-inspired materials
Lead-free perovskite-inspired materials still provide efficiencies that are too low for solar cells in outdoor environments. A British-Chinese research team, however, has demonstrated they have strong potential for indoor PV devices due to their ability to capture visible light.
