Imec hits 23.9% efficiency with tandem perovskite/silicon mini-module
Belgian research institute Imec has achieved a conversion efficiency of 23.9% on a perovskite/silicon tandem module measuring 4 square centimeters. This efficiency level, according to Imec, represents the first time such a stacked configuration has outperformed a standalone silicon solar cell.
California regulators call for later peak under SDG&E time of use rates
A week before a key ruling and with little justification, CPUC has altered a proposed decision on TOU timing. If approved this will be bad for SDG&E customers who adopt solar and could set a precedent for TOU rate cases at California’s other utilities.
Report shows grid modernization following renewable energy mandates, DG solar
NCCETC’s latest 50 States of Grid Modernization report shows that the states with the most aggressive renewable energy mandates are also leading on grid modernization – as are many of the states with the highest penetrations of distributed solar.
Is the standalone residential solar inverter obsolete?
In this guest post for pv magazine USA, Enphase co-Founder and VP of Products and Strategic Initiatives Raghu Belur looks at the future of residential solar inverters versus AC modules, drawing parallels from the personal computing industry.
Tesla begins pilot deployment of its Solar Roof
The BIPV product is only on the homes of its employees (including its executives) right now, but Tesla predicts that it will begin producing Solar Roof tiles from the Buffalo gigafactory by year end.
MIT researchers develop ‘any surface’ solar cell
A team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative has developed a flexible, transparent solar cell, using low-cost organic materials and graphene. The researchers say this cell could turn virtually any surface into a source of power generation.
Varun Sivaram: The Hamilton of the solar industry
Richard Matsui, Founder of kWh Analytics, speaks with Varun Sivaram, the Philip D. Reed Fellow for Science and Technology at the Council on Foreign Relations and a professor at Georgetown University.
Storage prices are falling faster than solar and wind
A study from the University of California and TU Munich in Germany shows that long-term R&D spending played a critical role in achieving cost reductions.
Stanford, DOE research brings insight into perovskite efficiency
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have published research revealing unusual atomic motions in perovskite materials exposed to light. Stanford says the discovery could prove crucial to further increasing the efficiency potential for perovskite solar cells.
Solar drives up evening wholesale prices in California
The duck curve is real, and is driving up prices and increasing ramping requirements in the evening.
