Research

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.

Perovskites remain a great hope for the future of the solar industry, once the possibilities of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) and heterojunction PV have been exhausted. A look at the latest perovskite research shows that industry optimism is built on a strong foundation.

A recent analysis shows that renewable energy could partially replace diesel fuel to power instruments and provide heat at the South Pole. A team of researchers has proposed a solar, wind and battery energy storage hybrid system that could reduce diesel consumption by 95% and save approximately $86 million over 15 years, after an initial investment of about $14.5 million.

Tests conducted by Canadian researchers at the NREL’s testing field in the United States have shown that ground reflectors based on high-density polyethylene can significantly increase bifacial PV plant performance. They stressed the profitability of this technology is strictly dependent on the location and warned about combining it with inverter clipping.

A new mobile power generator that combines solar and renewable hydrogen to provide zero-emissions power for remote and off-grid applications has been unveiled by Victorian startup H2PowerBox.