Meyer Burger brings 400 MW high-performance solar module manufacturing to Arizona
A diversified and talented workforce, proximity to customers, and strong partnerships on the ground in Arizona prompted Meyer Burger to establish a production site in Goodyear, Arizona.
Sunrise brief: Utility-scale solar + storage project planned for Hawaii
Also on the rise: Beaming solar from space is one step closer to reality. Wisconsin looks to add 165 MW of solar. Batteries to the rescue: Changes to California’s net-metering program may seriously erode the value of rooftop residential solar without the aid of battery energy storage. Missouri solar project acquired by Scout Clean Energy.
Air Force lab demonstrates key element for beaming solar power from space
Air Force Research Lab demonstrates key hardware for Arachne flight experiment, which aims to build an operational space-based solar power transmission system.
Toshiba claims 8.4% efficiency for transparent cuprous oxide solar cell
The record efficiency was achieved by engineering the cell with reduced copper(II) oxide (CuO) and copper (Cu) impurities in the thin-film deposition. It showed an open-circuit voltage of 1.13 V, a short-circuit current of 10.63 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 0.696.
MIT and Google develop solar cell simulator
The differential physics-based software simulates how the change in a given input can change the cell’s power output, potentially paving the way for faster improvements in PV efficiency.
Alabama students study outdoors in off-grid solar pods
In a partnership with startup SolarFi, the University of Alabama has deployed outdoor solar-powered study “pods”.
Autonomous robot for concentrated solar power installation and maintenance
Heliogen announced the roll-out of its robots to install and clean its CSP plants.
Icephobic surfaces for ice, snow shedding in utility scale solar
Developed by U.S. researchers, the proposed coating solution is claimed to effectively melt ice and snow with temperatures of up to -35 degrees Celsius. It was fabricated by using medium-chain triglyceride oil to plasticize two common industrial polymer polyvinyl chlorides and tested at a pilot facility in Alaska.
NASA to test solar-powered propulsion for asteroid defense
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission will employ roll-out solar arrays and an electric propulsion system to redirect Earthbound asteroids.
U.S. decarbonization goals hinge on scaling up heterojunction cell tech
HJT technology could fill an innovation gap in the residential and commercial rooftop PV market, and boost U.S. solar leadership through domestic manufacturing of cells and modules.
