Reactive power produced on-site increasingly important as solar power and EVs go mainstream
Cutting costs and integrating clean energy with local reactive power generation.
Silicon heterojunction solar cell hits 23.5% efficiency with new hole-selective contact
Researchers from Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have used molybdenum oxide as the hole-selective contact in a heterojuction silicon cell. The scientists claim the compound can compete with traditional contacts despite a lower level of optimization.
Trump budget request boosts nuclear, clean coal – while solar, ARPA-E and energy R&D are cut
Presidential budget requests rarely make it through congress. Nevertheless, this budget reveals the administration’s radical goals. Bad news for ARPA-E , EPA and Energy-Star.
Recycling heat for a ‘385% efficient’ solar desalinator
MIT scientists have developed a solar desalinator which sends heat from the sun through a ten-stage process of evaporation and condensation. The group estimates that a $100 device incorporating their innovation could provide the daily drinking water needs of a family.
Ten sunniest US states added 1.8 GW of small-scale solar in 2019, as solar advocates press for more
Solar contractors added another 1.8 gigawatts of small-scale solar in the ten sunniest states last year. In Hawaii and California, solar groups described their ambitious policy goals to keep the momentum going.
MIT researchers say PV innovations should be deployed in niche markets first
Solar module manufacturers should begin testing new technologies in higher-value niche markets, say scientists at the U.S. institution. For example, bringing perovskite technology directly to the mainstream market remains prohibitive in terms of initial investment but segments such as building-integrated PV or microelectronics may offer better routes to commercial maturity.
Solar and the snow
Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories are working to quantify the effects of abundant snowfall on a PV system and identify cost-effective strategies to mitigate energy losses and reliability issues caused by the presence of snow and ice.
French solar institute and Enel announce 24.63% efficiency for heterojunction solar cell
The efficiency of the cell, made with a standard M2 wafer, was raised 0.7% by using an improved busbar-free screen printing metallization based on heterojunction processes developed with manufacturing equipment provided by Swiss specialist Meyer Burger.
Hanergy named in class action complaint by ex-employees at Alta Devices
“Hanergy…is not above the rule of law, and this is not China. In abruptly closing the Alta plant, defendants violated the federal and California WARN Acts, which require at least 60 days written notice of termination where a plant is shut down and/or mass layoffs occur.”
Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells approaching 30% efficiency in lab
Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin have taken back the world efficiency record for a perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell, achieving 29.15% with a device measuring 1cm². The record has been confirmed by Fraunhofer ISE, and according to HZB, this means that the 30% efficiency mark is within reach.
