Technology
IEA-PVPS warns soiling costs solar industry billions per year
The International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) says dust, pollution, and debris on solar panels reduce output by 4% to 7% worldwide, costing the industry billions of euros annually and making tailored mitigation increasingly urgent. From pv magazine Global Soiling on solar installations costs the global solar industry annual revenue losses totaling billions of […]
NREL researchers address safety implications of next-generation battery technologies
Report says new evaluation methods, including AI, will help make future batteries safer. If lithium-ion batteries were once viewed as an expensive energy storage solution with tenuous supply chains, mass production has made them both affordable and readily available for a wide variety of applications. Consumer electronics, electric vehicles and, importantly, battery-based energy storage systems […]
Astrobotic, Honda developing vertical solar, storage solution for lunar missions
Pittsburgh-based aerospace company Astrobotic and Honda’s North American subsidiary are working on integrating Astrobotic’s vertical solar array technology with Honda’s regenerative fuel cell system to develop a power and storage solution capable of supporting prolonged exploration of the moon. From pv magazine Global American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Astrobotic Technology, Inc. have entered into […]
California’s home batteries are replacing gas plants and saving hundreds of millions
The Brattle Group analyzed a gigawatt-hour virtual power plant test that may be the world’s largest as part of its review of California’s distributed peak-shaving program. Battery manufacturing has scaled into the terawatt-hours annually, a breathtaking pace that could soon support multi-day backup of electricity systems. For now, U.S. installations fall far short of what […]
NREL researchers warn of unexpectedly high UV-induced degradation in n-type solar modules
A research team from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has analyzed n-type modules deployed in a 3 MW commercial PV project in an effort to assess the high degradation rate reported by the plant owner. The scientists found that ultraviolet-induced degradation (UVID) was a major factor affecting the facility’s performance. From pv magazine Global […]
Scaling perovskite tandems’ U.S. prospects
Three US manufacturers actively working to commercialize their respective perovskite-silicon tandem technologies make the case for tandem modules. CubicPV, Caelux and Swift Solar argue a commercial future for perovskites is inevitable, and they tell pv magazine the current policy environment could work in the technology’s favor. From the magazine Commercial deployment of perovskites has traditionally […]
Record nuclear power output in 2024 irrelevant to global energy landscape
Nuclear plants generated a record amount of power in 2024, surpassing record set in 2006, but industry optimism is not backed by economic data or investment, says the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2025. The World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR) 2025, overseen by French nuclear energy consultant Mycle Schneider, has revealed that global nuclear power […]
Tiny pinholes can lead to device failure in perovskite solar cells
Researchers in the United States have found microscopic pinholes in perovskites are responsible for the breakdown of such solar cells when under reverse bias conditions. They say the findings should push scientists and engineers to prioritize the production of pinhole-free films to make perovskites more robust and stable. From pv magazine Global A microscopic weak […]
Scientists boost organic solar cell efficiency using polymer zwitterions
A research team based in China and the United States has developed electroactive polymer zwitterions to modify zinc oxide interlayers in organic solar cells. Their work was found to passivate defects in organic solar cells, helping to improve device performance and stability. From pv magazine Global A group of scientists based in China and the […]