Sunrise brief: Three-decker, solar and battery powered yacht hits the water in Italy
Also on the rise: Allow solar developers to choose “connect and manage,” says DOE roadmap. Massachusetts city that mandates solar on new buildings celebrates latest success. And more.
Allow solar developers to choose “connect and manage,” says DOE roadmap
To speed interconnection of utility-scale renewables and storage projects, a U.S. Department of Energy roadmap sets forth 35 solutions and proposes actions to implement the solutions. The roadmap was developed through a DOE stakeholder process known as i2X.
Important Q1 solar policy changes across 50 states
Trends spotted in the NC Clean Energy Technology Center report include legislation to enable community solar, net metering reform considered by new states and states clarifying time of use rates for net metering customers.
New vapor deposition tech could accelerate commercialization of perovskite solar cells
A U.S.-based team developed a vapor deposition technique to fabricate outperforming all-inorganic perovskite thin films in under 5 minutes in a continuous process. The adoption of the proposed approach may also result in higher perovskite solar cell power conversion efficiencies.
Making the case for concentrated solar power
Dismissed by many in the solar industry as an overly complex, outdated technology, concentrated solar power (CSP) is set for a comeback thanks to a scaled-down, modular approach.
Sunrise brief: California Supreme Court to review rooftop solar net metering
Also on the rise: Renewables and storage interconnection backlog grew about 30% last year. California’s electricity multi-crisis can be aided by virtual power plants. And more.
A guide to help homeowners understand how to go solar
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory published an open access guide to rooftop solar and battery energy storage that covers costs, incentives, policies and more.
New quantum solar cell material promises external quantum efficiency of 190%
The new material consists of an heterostructure combining germanium, selenium, and tin sulfide, which also integrates atoms of zerovalent copper. It features an average photovoltaic absorption over 80% and could help photovoltaic cells break the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit, according to its creators.
Renewables and storage interconnection backlog grew about 30% last year
The wait for transmission interconnection studies constitutes a “major bottleneck” for solar, storage and wind projects, which accounted for over 95% of all active capacity awaiting studies at the end of 2023, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has reported.
Triple-junction solar cells have technical potential to reach 44.3% efficiency
A research team has investigated the optical properties of perovskite/perovskite/silicon triple-junction cells and has found these devices may have a practical efficiency potential of 44.3% assuming idealized electrical parameters. These cells may also potentially achieve a fill factor of 90.1%.
