Leading solar inverter trends of 2022
It was a good year for the inverter market. Strong demand was only stifled by supply chain limits, but new inverters are less innovative and show a slower evolution in improvements. Nevertheless, more versatile options are emerging in response to the energy crisis.
Lowering grid costs with voltage support from PV inverters at night
Researchers have proposed the use of solar inverters in utility-scale solar assets to replace expensive voltage compensators, in order to provide voltage support at night. They said reactive power from PV inverters could be significantly cheaper and suggested the introduction of incentives to convince PV plant owners.
Solar electric camper boat
The POL Lux from Sweden is a catamaran boat design with dual electric motors and a solar canopy that can covert into a private sleeping area.
Solar Inventions achieves patent for silver-saving Configurable Current Cells
The technology is estimated to save $2 million to $5 million per GW in solar projects and boosts rated power output. The company has patents in the U.S., China, and Israel for its cell configuration.
“Dragon scale” solar panels chosen for new space station housing units
Space station developer Gravitics selected mPower for its interconnected mesh of silicon-based solar panels.
American-Made Solar Prize round 6 semifinalists announced
The semifinalists will each receive $50,000 in cash, plus two teams were awarded a $25,000 bonus cash prize for their participation in the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) contest, which seeks solutions that enable underserved communities to overcome systemic barriers to solar deployment.
Solar car for city mobility priced at $6,250
The two-passenger Squad solar electric vehicle, which will debut in the U.S. in January at CES, is designed for quick trips like grocery shopping or a short-distance commute.
Sunrise brief: Don’t let the solar lights go out in California
Also on the rise: American Battery Factory chooses Tucson as the place for giga-plant. Biden admin wants to shore up resiliency with solar-plus-storage in Puerto Rico. And more.
How clean energy technologies achieve commercial success
Analysts study lab-to-market pathways for clean energy technologies including a look at the development of First Solar’s cadmium-telluride thin film solar modules.
PV windows cut energy use by 40% in glazed buildings, says NREL
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has shown that perovskite-based thin-film PV, transparent PV, and dynamic PV glazing technologies can reduce the energy use of glazed buildings by around 40% across eight regions in the United States.
