Technology and R&D

The BIPV product is only on the homes of its employees (including its executives) right now, but Tesla predicts that it will begin producing Solar Roof tiles from the Buffalo gigafactory by year end.

A team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative has developed a flexible, transparent solar cell, using low-cost organic materials and graphene. The researchers say this cell could turn virtually any surface into a source of power generation.

Richard Matsui, Founder of kWh Analytics, speaks with Varun Sivaram, the Philip D. Reed Fellow for Science and Technology at the Council on Foreign Relations and a professor at Georgetown University.

A study from the University of California and TU Munich in Germany shows that long-term R&D spending played a critical role in achieving cost reductions.

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have published research revealing unusual atomic motions in perovskite materials exposed to light. Stanford says the discovery could prove crucial to further increasing the efficiency potential for perovskite solar cells.

The Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water development slammed what it called an “unrealistic” budget from President Trump, and proposed additional funding for agencies Trump planned to gut or eliminate.

The funding is for 48 identified solar projects spanning two SunShot programs designed to advance solar power technologies in the U.S.

Four research partners have won a contract from the Army Research Laboratory’s Army Research Office to develop flexible, more powerful solar modules to provide soldiers in the field reliable electricity.

A team of researchers from Rice University in Houston, Texas has developed a new method for using solar power to desalinate sea water. Part of a federally funded research effort into water treatment , the team has developed a system utilizing a combination of membrane distillation and nanophotonics to turn salt water into fresh drinking water.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a new semiconductor alloy that can capture near-infrared light in the leading edge of the visible light spectrum. This could be a major step forward in the development of concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) technology.