Emiliano Bellini
‘Pulsed Joule heating’ tech to remove snow, frost, ice from solar modules
US scientists have developed a way to remove snow and ice from solar panels at a much faster rate than conventional approaches. It is based on a glass coating on a film with high optical transparency and superhydrophobicity.
Small-scale floating PV with pumped hydro storage
Indian scientists have developed a system under which a pumped-hydro facility stores grid electricity during off-peak hours by pumping water to an upper reservoir. During peak hours, the system feeds the load, rather than taking power from the grid.
Vertical PV system for green rooftops
Norwegian startup Over Easy Solar AS is launching a vertical PV system for rooftop applications at this year’s Smarter E in Munich, Germany.
Renac Power unveils high-voltage residential battery
Renac Power’s new plug-and-play battery has a storage capacity of 3.74 kWh, but it can be enhanced in series with up to five batteries to 18.7 kWh. It has a nominal voltage of 96 V and a voltage range of 81 V to 108 V.
UK group develops liquid air energy storage tech
A UK consortium has developed the Prisma system, which stores thermal energy in liquid air form to provide onsite compressed air, via a latent energy cold storage tank filled with a phase-change material. It is expected to have a levelized cost of storage of GBP 114 ($143.10)/MWh.
Sharp launches 540 W bifacial solar module
Sharp’s new IEC 61215 and IEC 61730-certified-certified panel features 144 half-cells based on M10 wafers and a 10-busbar design. Its operating temperature coefficient is -0.349% per degree Celsius and its power tolerance reaches up to 5%.
MIT, NREL researchers develop 40%-efficient thermophotovoltaic cell for grid-scale thermal batteries
The device is described as a heat engine with no moving parts that is able to produce power from a heat source of between 1,900 to 2,400 C. This concept is known as thermal energy grid storage (TEGS) and consists of a low-cost, grid-scale storage technology that uses thermophotovoltaic cells to convert heat to electricity above 2,000 C.
Mobile agrivoltaic system from the Netherlands
Created by a Dutch group of companies and research institutions, the mobile solar system may also be combined with an electrolyzer for hydrogen generation. Two prototypes are currently being tested by a farmer and a research institute in the Netherlands.
Growatt unveils solar rechargeable portable power station
Chinese inverter maker Growatt has launched Infinity 1500, a portable power station for off-grid applications.
New solar module cooling tech based on porous nanochannels
US scientists have utilized a nanochannels device to cool down the operating temperature of a commercial PV module and have found that the proposed technique is able to improve power yield by up to 32.8%. Spray droplets are dispersed over the nanochannels device in order to eliminate the need for a continuous supply of a coolant.
