A new technique for cooling solar panels
Scientists in Egypt have investigated the effectiveness of using water and a mixture of aluminum oxide and calcium chloride hexahydrate to cool PV modules. Optimal performance was observed with a solution of 75% water, according to the research findings.
A flexible perovskite solar cell with 11.8% efficiency
U.S. researchers have created an inorganic mixed halide perovskite solar cell which they claim shows no thermal degradation even at 200 degrees Celsius for three days. The device can be used in tandem junction cells and is designed for use in real-life environments with high solar irradiation.
LCOE from large scale PV fell 4% to $50 per megawatt-hour in six months
Analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance say the lowest-cost projects financed in Australia, China, Chile and the UAE in the last six months hit a levelized cost of energy of just $23-29/MWh and the best solar and wind projects will produce electricity for less than $20/MWh by 2030.
SunSource orders 105 MW of Trina Solar modules with 500W+ output
Trina Solar’s new Vertex series of bifacial modules have a conversion efficiency of up to 21% and can deliver more than 500W of power from the front surface.
Indian Railways tenders 1 GW of ground-mounted solar projects
Developers have until June 30 to lodge bids to develop plots of solar capacity across the national rail network paying no more than Rs2.71/kWh for the electricity generated under a 25-year contract.
CEL seeks technology partner for waterless solar module cleaning systems
The state-owned Central Electronics Limited seeks to empanel startups having the technology patent for waterless solar module cleaning system without any moving parts as its intends to manufacture such systems at its facilities.
Single‐walled carbon nanotubes for more efficient III‐V solar cells
Russian researchers have improved the efficiency of a thin-fim GaAs‐based solar cell by 0.9% by applying single‐walled carbon nanotubes as the topmost layer. The cell also showed a slight increase in the short circuit current density, from 16.9 to 17.9 mA/cm2.
‘Free-form’ organic PV
French organic PV module manufacturer Armor said it began manufacturing free-form PV modules in early April. The new technology will allow the company’s ASCA PV film to be produced in a range of different shapes.
Global supergrid vs. regional supergrids
Researchers from Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology have assessed the economic advantages of a fully interconnected global network. They found that an international grid could contribute to a global LCOE of €52.50/MWh. The higher complexity of such a system, however, would only be marginally compensated by additional economic benefits.
Mega-scale solar farms Vs distributed generation with battery storage
Distributed generation with battery storage can revolutionize solar development in India in the shortest time period with minimal investment.
