Research

Scientists have proposed a new system that uses surplus PV energy in the spring and the autumn to charge up underground thermal energy storage for later use in the summer and winter. They have simulated it on a school facility in Seoul, with a few optional configurations for thermal storage. Power savings were up to 39%.

Yale University scientists are seeking industry collaborators to explore stretchy material for panels and growing algae on modules, as well as other efficiency-boosting possibilities inspired by giant clam behavior.

Substantial cost and time savings are possible with flexible “connect and manage” interconnection of utility-scale solar and solar-plus-storage projects, two studies have found.

Researchers from Purdue University have studied the impact of traditional photovoltaic systems and agrivoltaics deployed in corn croplands. They conclude agrivoltaics could offer a viable strategy to ease the current tradeoff between energy production, greenhouse gas emissions, food production and farm profitability.

Conceived by researchers in Canada, the novel method combines image processing and deep learning techniques to locate the areas of the solar panels covered with snow. It reportedly performed better than three other popular image processing-based segmentation methods.

The US Navy has funded Danish research on preventing biofouling while maintaining visible light transmission on underwater solar cells. The top solution uses ultra-low concentrations of nano-sized, seawater-soluble pigments. Power generation stayed close to 100% after 13 weeks underwater.

Scientists have used hydrometallurgical and electrochemical processes to recover pure silver from solar cells. The proposed technique also utilizes a method known as electrodeposition-redox replacement, which reportedly increases the silver recovery rate.

U.S. researchers have applied robotics and automation to perovskite material discovery for use in tandem perovskite solar cell technologies. The robotic platform is multifunctional, able to mix precursors, perform spin coating, annealing and characterization of the optoelectronic thin films.

Researchers in Morocco have examined the effects of an anti-reflective coating on solar panel performance under desert conditions and have found that it enhanced both the annual performance ratio and the energy yield by 2% and 5.5%, respectively. They have also found it to be durable and able to withstand dry cleaning methods under accelerated testing.

Researchers have conducted a field study across two growing seasons, growing different kinds of vegetables under three types of modules with 40%, 5%, and 0% transparency. Their work is the first replicated research experiment that evaluates module transparency in an irrigated vegetable field setting.