High-voltage mini solar panel converts laser light into electricity
Scientists developed a monocrystalline solar panel relying on “minicells” based on polysilicon on silicon oxide passivating contacts. The module works with laser light and can reportedly achieve a photoconversion efficiency of over 40% and an open-circuit voltage of 7 V.
Sunrise brief: Bifacial perovskites show 93% backside efficiency
Also on the rise: First Solar inks 5 GW supply deal with Energix. EPA announces two grant opportunities for clean tech projects. And more.
Perovskites show 93% bifaciality
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory demonstrated highly bifacial perovskite cells with a front side efficiency of 23%.
Indiana utility activates first 465 MW solar projects
The projects are part of NIPSCO’s 2.4 GW clean energy fleet replacing a coal generation portfolio to be retired in the coming years.
Ericsson solar-plus-storage microgrid to power Texas 5G station
The mobile networking company is using six bifacial 400 W solar panels assembled with three lithium-ion battery packs on a company rooftop in Plano, Texas.
Flow battery capacity and longevity boosted by an unexpected ingredient
Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory demonstrated the use of sugar water to improve the performance of flow batteries for grid-scale energy storage.
Missouri municipal utility to launch 20-year community solar program
The initial framework calls for Columbia Water & Light to distribute solar energy using a net billing system from its first two projects in the municipality, Truman and Bernadette Fields, whose 1 MW of clean energy capacity is divided into 1.5 kW blocks for residential customers, with 15% of power capacity available to eligible low-income residents.
Solar generated 7% of U.S. electricity in April
Solar electricity was up 16% from 2022, a relatively modest increase due to lower deployed solar capacity in 2022 than in 2021. For the year, solar has covered 5% of all electricity so far, with emission-free sources greater than 43%.
U.S. national labs evaluate potential for floating solar in Southeast Asia
The labs assessed the technical potential for floating PV and underlined its co-benefits in environmental protection and food security.
Using existing fences as near-zero-cost racking solution for PV deployment
Researchers are proposing to use steel zip ties to attach solar modules to fences in animal farms as a low-cost racking solution for agrivoltaic applications. They found the proposed approach is technically and economically viable, provided careful wind load tests are conducted on the fences.
