A U.S. scientist has developed a computational framework that assesses how well a hypothetical agrivoltaic project would perform in achieving desired outcomes such as the volume of PV electricity produced, and energy-to-agriculture. The method considers the high-frequency decomposition of solar irradiance into multiple rays and analyzes how these rays are propagated forward in time, to assess multiple reflections and absorption for various system configurations. It also takes into account panel inclination, panel refractive indices, sizes, shapes, heights, and albedo.

NASA scientists have partially cleaned up the solar modules of the Insight lander operating on Mars, by using grain sands collected nearby and trickling them on the panels during the windiest time of the day. This handmade technique has made it possible, according to them, to increase the PV array’s yield of about 30 watt-hours of energy per ‘sol,’ or Martian day.

The new product has an efficiency of 98.8% and a European efficiency of up to 98.5%. It features 10 independent maximum power point tracking (MPPT) inputs, with MPPT voltage ranging from 180-1000 V.

The proposed technique is based on radiative cooling and consists of a glass coating made with a two-dimensional subwavelength nanostructured grating, which is imprinted in soda-lime glass and has enhanced mid-infrared emissivity, and a micro-structured grating. The temperature decrease provided by the nano-micro-grating coating was found to be approximately up to 5.8 degrees Celsius.

Scientists in China developed a new kesterite solar cell they say could be suitable for indoor or outdoor applications. The bifacial solar cell reached 9.3% frontside efficiency, and also achieved a 9.0% on the backside.

The Chinese module manufacturer said the 0.35% improvement in efficiency was obtained through material upgrades integrated into the cell process and fabrication. The result was confirmed by China’s National Institute of Metrology.

A Swiss start-up has created a containerised movable PV system that is designed to be easily relocated to allow the use of solar energy in locations where a fixed installation is not an option. The solution is based on a racking technology which can include two racks able to host up to 30 solar panels.

The 100% solar-powered boat will be tested in a 9,000 nautical mile expedition from Chile to Australia that is set to start in December. The vessel is equipped with an 11 kW PV system built with heterojunction modules provided by Russian manufacturer Hevel Solar.

The 50 kW version of the new inverter features an efficiency of 98.6% and a European efficiency of 98.1%. It can be deployed with a decentralised approach, next to the PV modules, or centralised, at the grid connection point.

In the proposed system, the optical element is placed symmetrically at the centre of the solar panel in order to increase the length of the effective light collection region. Each hologram is claimed to be able to separate the colors of sunlight and direct them to the solar cells within the solar panel.