“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.
Solar for extreme Arctic conditions
US researchers have installed a pilot 4.3 kW solar system at Oliktok Point, Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle. They want to determine which PV system designs and technologies are most efficient in extremely cold climates with limited sunlight.
Longi claims world’s highest efficiency for silicon solar cells
Longi said it has achieved a 26.81% efficiency rating for an unspecified heterojunction solar cell, as confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH).
Sunrise brief: Solar industry requests that Commerce throw out the tariff case
Also on the rise: Tackling soft costs in U.S. residential solar. REC Solar reports disappointing Q3 earnings, dip in poly sales. And more.
Novel soiling loss measurement system for PV installations
An international research group has developed new technology to measure soiling losses in PV installations, by using a simple pocket light. They said the new system offers similar performance to their reference devices.
