NREL researchers address safety implications of next-generation battery technologies
Report says new evaluation methods, including AI, will help make future batteries safer.
As bidirectional EV charging grows, utility group suggests requiring interconnection
Interconnection of bidirectional EV chargers can enable grid compensation for EV owners while enhancing safety, says a report that offers comprehensive guidance for regulators.
IEA-PVPS warns soiling costs solar industry billions per year
The International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) says dust, pollution, and debris on solar panels reduce output by 4% to 7% worldwide, costing the industry billions of euros annually and making tailored mitigation increasingly urgent.
New control strategy for grid-forming inverters
Researchers in the United States have created a droop control strategy for grid-forming inverters that purportedly improves power system frequency stability. By using an exponential active power–frequency relationship, the novel technique optimizes the use of available headroom, reduces frequency deviations, and enhances overall grid resilience.
Scientists break Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit for silicon solar cell in experiment
A Chinese-US research group claims to have achieved a power conversion efficiency of over 50% in an n-type single-junction solar cell by inhibiting light conversion to heat at extremely low temperatures. The result was achieved at temperatures of 30-50 Kelvin, which are a few tens of degrees above absolute zero.
Ford Lightning electric truck batteries power Maryland’s electric grid
Residential solar company Sunrun is operating the first vehicle-to-grid program in the United States, running a distributed energy power plant via coordinated energy dispatch from Ford Lightning truck owners.
Why do some cities have higher low-income solar adoption rates than others?
After studying low- and moderate-income solar adoption for years, Lawrence Berkely Laboratory drilled down on three cities and captured why solar equity requires looking beyond numbers alone.
Record nuclear power output in 2024 irrelevant to global energy landscape
Nuclear plants generated a record amount of power in 2024, surpassing record set in 2006, but industry optimism is not backed by economic data or investment, says the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2025.
Tiny pinholes can lead to device failure in perovskite solar cells
Researchers in the United States have found microscopic pinholes in perovskites are responsible for the breakdown of such solar cells when under reverse bias conditions. They say the findings should push scientists and engineers to prioritize the production of pinhole-free films to make perovskites more robust and stable.
Scientists boost organic solar cell efficiency using polymer zwitterions
A research team based in China and the United States has developed electroactive polymer zwitterions to modify zinc oxide interlayers in organic solar cells. Their work was found to passivate defects in organic solar cells, helping to improve device performance and stability.
