NREL researchers want to use tetracene to make singlet fission solar cells
Tetracene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon that is commonly used in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), or as a sensitizer in chemoluminescence. Singlet fission solar cells can produce two electrons from one photon, making the cell more efficient.
U.S. solar industry on track to install 250 GW in five years
According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q3 2024 report, in the two years since passage of the IRA the solar industry has added 75 GW of new capacity to the grid, representing over 36% of all solar capacity built in U.S. history.
Reaching 45% solar generation would save Southeast utilities $20 billion/year
Annual savings of $20 billion are possible across six Southeastern states by reaching 45% solar generation by 2035, according to a national laboratory study.
New refrigerant may improve coefficient of performance of air-source heat pumps by up to 21%
Developed by a Chinese research group, the novel refrigerant is made of a mixture of carbon dioxide (CO2) and a non-flammable hydrofluoroolefin. It has slightly higher costs compared to conventional compounds, but its creators claims these costs could be significantly reduced with large-scale industrial production.
Surging electricity demand puts pressure on utility planning
ICF report says retiring legacy fossil fuel plants will be more challenging.
Using surplus PV power for seasonal underground thermal storage
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%.
Solar cell makers can learn from giant clams, claim Yale researchers
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.
Flexible interconnection at far lower cost and nearly twice the speed
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.
Assessing viability of agrivoltaics in corn fields
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.
Deep learning tech detects snow coverage on PV systems, calculates energy loss
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.
