Research

The United States-headquartered Renewable Energy Test Center has released its annual PV Module Index, evaluating the reliability, quality, and performance of solar panels.

A “nation first” local renewable energy zone will be established on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as part of a pilot program designed to boost rooftop solar generation, store it and share it locally across the poles and wires infrastructure that already exists.

University of New South Wales researchers have created vortex generators that can reportedly reduce the operating solar module temperature by up to 2.5 C. They built two different prototypes, based on aluminum and a conductive 3D printable polymer, and tested them under several scenarios in an experimental setting deployed in Sydney.

Researchers from the University of Queensland have developed a new class of solid electrolytes for rechargeable aqueous zinc-iodine batteries, which has allowed for extended lifespan and high efficiency.

The decarbonisation of mining operations continues to find support with a new report showing that an all-electric underground fleet for the Cosmos nickel project in Western Australia would be technically feasible and cost competitive with the existing all-diesel operating fleet that was planned.

United States-headquartered independent test lab Kiwa PVEL has named 53 manufacturers and 388 models – a record number of ‘Top Performers’ in the 10-year history of its PV Module Reliability Scorecard.

Scientists in China have tested the influence of panel row spacing in increasing a PV system performance in a full-scale outdoor PV array experimental platform. They found that larger row spacing plays a limited role in improving thermal convection, observing that solar irradiance and wind speed are the key parameters for optimal PV system design.

A new report from the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme presents a suite of strategic recommendations aimed at taking building integrated photovoltaics from niche market to mainstream.

Haven’t we been here before? The polysilicon industry is shifting from shortage to oversupply but a few things are different from market cycles of the past, as Bernreuter Research founder Johannes Bernreuter explains.

A research group in Spain has demonstrated the technical feasibility of using repaired solar modules with satisfying results. However it warned that there is an urgent need to define a protocol for evaluating the features of a “viable” repaired panel.