Indian scientists have designed a thin-film solar cell that uses a mineral made of binary copper(II) and bismuth(III) oxide. They identified a cell design with a tin sulfide buffer layer that offers efficiencies close to 27.7%.

Sunova Solar is offering five versions of its new solar panels, with power outputs from 555 W to 575 W and efficiencies ranging from 21.4% to 22.2%. They have a temperature coefficient of -0.31% per degree Celsius.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has published a dataset with 10,905 sites for PV deployment across Africa, with an estimated total capacity of 4.9 TW.

Longi said it has achieved a 26.81% efficiency rating for an unspecified heterojunction solar cell, as confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH).

An international research group has developed new technology to measure soiling losses in PV installations, by using a simple pocket light. They said the new system offers similar performance to their reference devices.

Japanese scientists have described the steps that need to be taken to improve the average efficiency of CIGS solar modules, from around 18.5% at present to more than 20%. They presented all of the critical technical factors that are currently holding the tech back from broader market adoption.

German researchers have created an algorithm to predict and identify string yield losses or underperforming strings without additional weather data. It could be used to inspect modules, strings, arrays, inverters, and transformers.

Indian scientists have designed a new all-perovskite tandem solar cell configuration that can reportedly achieve higher efficiencies than similar devices built with the same materials. The top perovskite cell has a wide bandgap of 1.75 eV and the bottom perovskite cell has a bandgap of 1.25 eV.

Enel is testing a 24 MWh thermal energy storage system that could be used for seasonal renewables storage. The facility uses rocks that store excess energy as heat, then releases that heat to generate steam for electricity.

Radovan Kopecek, an expert on interdigitated back-contacted (IBC) tech, says that IBC solar panels could capture more than 50% of the global market by 2030, potentially pushing TOPCon products out of competition. He told pv magazine how this transition might materialize and discussed the tech advancements that could make it possible.