Researchers have defined a new machine learning-based methodology that reportedly reduces customer acquisition costs by about 15% or $0.07/Watt. It is based on an adapted version of the XGBoost algorithm and considers factors such as summer bills, household income, and homeowner’s age, among others.

Kaneka said the cells will be utilized in the roof glass of Toyota’s Prius PHEV electric car. It plans to begin full-scale delivery of in-vehicle PV products this year.

Indian scientists have built a four-terminal silicon-perovskite solar cell that uses a top perovskite device with an efficiency of up to 17.1%. The top cell incorporates a room-temperature sputtered transparent conducting electrode (TCE) as a rear electrode.

Mauritian researchers have developed a solar tracker prototype that increases current by around 37%. The device uses a simplified and mechanical tracking system.

Dutch scientists have reported higher degradation risk for n-type TOPCon cells with EVA encapsulant due to potential moisture degradation. Front-side metallization makes n-type cells more vulnerable than p-type cells, according to damp heat tests.

A Jordanian research team has designed a cleaning technique for solar modules that uses static electricity to remove dust from panel surfaces. The system features an electrostatic ionizer that reduces attraction between dust particles and their accumulation on modules, improving their energy yield.

Researchers in India have combined PV generation with heat produced by an earth-to-air heat exchanger to provide buildings with space heating and cooling. They say the proposed system could result in an annual energy gain of 8116.7 kWh.

Dutch startup Airturb has developed a 500 W hybrid wind-solar power system featuring a vertical axis wind turbine and a solar base hosting four 30 W solar panels. The system can be used for rooftop or off-grid applications.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and First Solar have used cracked film lithography (CFL) to build a bifacial cadmium telluride solar cell with a power density of 20.3 mW cm−2. They claim the cell has a higher bifacial power density than any polycrystalline absorber currently manufactured at scale.

Stanford University researchers have created a model to assess how much compressed air storage capacity might be needed for the deep decarbonization of power systems, while compensating for the variability of wind and solar-based power systems. They applied the model to California’s energy system and found that compressed air could be very competitive on a dollars-per-kilowatt-hour basis.