Technology and R&D

SA Water, one of the largest water utilities in Australia and most ambitious when it comes to renewable energy, has partnered with aerial solar inspection and data analysis company, Above, to monitor the performance of its 360,000+ solar panels.

An international team of scientists developed a technique to isolate individual sources of electrical ‘noise’ within a solar cell. Comparing the technique to being able to pick out a single voice within a 200-person choir, they say the technique will help to improve understanding of where efficiency losses occur within a cell, and effective ways to mitigate them.

The Australian National University today opened its Distributed Energy Resources Lab, dedicated to researching and testing technologies including batteries, solar panels and electric vehicles which it says will “underpin the energy grids of the future”.


Saudi scientists have tested several cooling technologies for solar panels and have found that active techniques work better than passive ones under harsh climatic conditions. The most effective one consists of a system based on four heat pipes immersed in a box of liquid, as liquid bulk, integrated with the back of the solar panel.

Romande Energie and Swiss research institute Agroscope are testing startup Insolight’s transparent PV panels in an agrivoltaic project. The modules are replacing the plastic covers used to grow strawberries and raspberries.

A true next generation of solar cell technology is upon us. It is time to contemplate the benefits.

An MIT-spawned company has teamed up with architects and an Italian frozen-desserts brand to design an origami-inspired umbrella to power fridges.

The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 58 of the Solar cell efficiency tables. He spoke with pv magazine about the criteria with which these tables are compiled and the importance of result certification by independent third parties.

Developed by U.S. scientists, the Hydrogen Energy Storage Evaluation Tool (HESET) can assess the economic and technical characteristics of individual system components and the modelling of each hydrogen pathway. Furthermore, it can help understand how hydrogen storage can be used for various grid and end-user services.

As the search for solutions to integrate increasing levels of energy technologies like solar PV and batteries into the electricity grid continues, Queensland-based energy data specialist Luceo Energy has revealed a new software platform designed to help electricity distributors manage consumer-owned devices across low-voltage networks.