solar research

Solar sheep grazing helps to create a beneficial dual-use environment, found American Solar Grazing Association in a two-year study conducted at 31 different solar sites.

Unprecedented local opposition and anti-solar local ordinances, along with softened federal support from the Trump administration, is driving a need for a new generation of state solar rights statutes, researchers conclude in a forthcoming paper from Arizona State University’s College of Law.

Scientists in the United States have created a testing platform for energy harvesting in solar-plus-storage systems under extreme temperatures ranging from -180 C to 300 C.

A research group including scientists from U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Underwriter’s Laboratories Inc., and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has outlined a new protocol for assessing PV module backsheet degradation in the field. Through the proposed framework, the researchers analyzed PV backsheet degradation across 41 sites, with exposure times ranging from 1 to 38 years.

New research from Stanford University has investigated the performance limits of transition metal dichalcogenide solar cells for indoor energy harvesting intended for powering internet of things (IoT) devices and sensors. The analysis showed these cells may reach a power conversion efficiency of up to 36.5%.

An international team has developed a new technique to recycle perovskite solar cells (PSC) made on glass substrates using a water-based solution. Tests showed that the recycled cells were as efficient and stable as the original devices.

Millions of acres on federal land are suitable for renewable energy, of which less than 5% is needed to be carbon-free by 2035, found National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Federally controlled reservoirs have between 861 GW and 1,042 GW of potential floating solar generation capacity, and it is well distributed across the U.S., according to a new study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Laboratory testing has revealed that some negatively-doped, “n-type” tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) and heterojunction (HJT) solar modules are susceptible to ultraviolet (UV) light-related damage and degradation. That could mean trouble down the line, if modules in the field begin to show UV-related performance loss. Manufacturers are implementing solutions at cell and module level.

A team from the University of California Santa Barbara used ultrafast electron microscopy to record photocarriers as they diffuse across a silicon and germanium heterojunction. It is the first time the movement, which lasts picoseconds, has been captured as a moving visual.