World

Given Covid-19 spread, India’s ministry has decided to conduct the third Global Renewable Energy Investors Meet and exposition (3rd RE-Invest)—scheduled from October 15 to 17—on a digital platform. The ministry has sought proposals for an interactive IT platform to facilitate the same.

Scientists in the U.K. have developed a system which makes panels vibrate to provide cleaning. The academics have conceded, however, they are yet to calculate the ‘sweet spot’ of mechanical stress to be applied.

A U.S. research group is now developing new inverters to protect solar installations from cyberattacks. The researchers also aim to create new cybersecurity standards. Professor Alan Mantooth, the group’s research coordinator, said that inverters can be shut down if they are hacked, or contribute to grid instability and result in the overcharging of batteries, while potentially creating problems that we still don’t know how to address.

About 10 years ago, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) made their entry into the world of PV with a power conversion efficiency of 3.8%. Fast forward to 2020, and PSCs are the talk of the town, with a string of impressive laboratory achievements to their name. Global research efforts have shifted toward PSCs as efficiencies keep on getting thrashed on a regular basis. But is it too soon to say that the technology is ready for commercialization?

Researchers from Deakin University in Australia claim their battery chemistry is based on a new class of electrolyte material which carries no risk of uncontrolled thermal events and represents a viable alternative to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

Although the Wiki-Solar website ranking only provides a snapshot of PV project engineering, procurement and construction contracts outside of China, it is nevertheless a useful indicator of the changing global solar market landscape. Of the top 11 companies, four are based in India, three in Germany, and two in the United States. But last year’s largest contractor, U.S.-based First Solar, might lose its leading position this year, as it has largely discontinued its EPC activities.

A French-Turkish research team has created an economic model to optimize scheduling for solar-powered EV charging units. The proposed model suggests that such projects might be more profitable today than at the end of the decade, depending on a wide range of variables.

Scientists in Germany have developed a “heavy duty” test to provide insight into the long term effects of potential induced degradation in PV modules. The tests go well beyond those established by IEC standards and seek to guide manufacturers and investors on the best choice of materials – encapsulants in particular – when it comes to long term PID resistance.

France’s Sunbooster has developed a technology to cool down solar modules when their ambient temperature exceeds 25 degrees Celsius. The solution features a set of pipes that spread a thin film of water onto the glass surface of the panels in rooftop PV systems and ground-mounted plants. The cooling systems collect the water from rainwater tanks and then recycle, filter and store it again. The company claims the technology can facilitate an annual increase in power generation of between 8% and 12%.

Solar manufacturing’s recent move toward larger wafer/cells throws into focus the need for effective cell-cutting techniques to handle the processing of these cells into half cut or even smaller formats. pv magazine looks at the landscape for cell cutting, as the technology reaches maturity and moves into the mainstream of cell/module production.