The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has launched a new software package, developed alongside SunPower and kWh Analytics, which it says will improve the accuracy and reliability of PV plant performance data, and improve the industry’s understanding of degradation.

Technology multinational Apple Inc. has announced that its global operations are now 100% powered by clean energy. Additionally, another nine of Apple’s manufacturing partners have committed to powering their production with 100% clean energy, meaning a total of 23 suppliers have now made this commitment.

Chinese module manufacturer JA Solar has issued a statement refuting assertions made by SolarWorld in hearings conducted last year, which were reported last week in the findings of United States Trade Representative (USTR) report into Chinese practices related to intellectual property.

Rochester, New York based technology company Natcore has announced two new processes, which it says could dramatically reduce production costs of its foil cell, which it has been working to commercialize for the past couple of years.

Utility Hawaiian Electric has announced the start of operations of a pilot project featuring flywheel energy storage technology provided by Amber Kinetics. The project will test the technology’s capability of supporting the grid and allowing further integration of renewable generation.

Researchers in the U.S. have confirmed the existence of a novel state of the element manganese, first proposed in a journal dating from 1928, which could allow for the development of low-cost, high performance batteries for grid level and other energy storage applications.

Scientists led by Brown University have developed perovskite solar cells, which replace the toxic lead common to many of these material structures with titanium. The researchers say that with further optimization, the material could eventually be ideal for use as a tandem cell layer.

A team of scientists from the University of Rochester has developed a compound which it says could double the effectiveness of redox flow batteries, and ‘transform the energy storage landscape’.

A team from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed a novel microscopic technique, which enables them to observe degradation in perovskite materials at the nano-scale and pinpoint key areas to improve the stability and durability of the material.

A report published by TÜV Rheinland, which was commissioned by tracker manufacturer Array Technologies, shows that centralized tracker systems such as those offered by Array Technologies offer an LCOE advantage over other, decentralized system architectures.