World

The story of residential rooftop solar is one of liberation. Confronted with high module prices, early PV adopters experienced significantly longer payback periods – it was not unheard of for homeowners to be making monthly finance payments higher than their utility bills. But consumers were motivated, seeking independence from the stranglehold that electricity providers had on them with ever-increasing utility rates.

India’s largest private-sector thermal power producer—which ranked as the sixth-largest solar player globally in 2019—has climbed to the top spot following a Solar Energy Corporation of India (Seci) award to develop 8 GW of Indian solar project capacity.

Scientists at Saudia Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology demonstrated an organic PV cell that can simply be printed onto a piece of paper. The cell set a new efficiency record for a fully inkjet-printed device, and its designers envisage applications in integrated medical sensors.

We increasingly need safe, affordable, and powerful batteries as we move to greener technologies. Battery-powered electric cars, for example, have much higher safety standards than our phones, and for such vehicles to travel long distances, lighter batteries with higher energy density and rapid-charging capabilities would make a world of difference. Majid Rasool, a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University, discusses a potential solution.

International thinktank IEEFA says there are 50 viable green hydrogen projects under development with an estimated renewable energy capacity of 50 GW and the potential to produce 4 million tonnes of the fuel annually.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have identified sites where hydrogen could be produced via PV electrolysis at prices ranging from $1.90/kg to $4.20/kg in the United States by the end of the decade.

Solid-state batteries hold the potential to overcome many of the limitations of today’s lithium-ion storage technologies. Though they have been a research topic for more than 30 years, and more recently have seen billions of dollars poured into their development by leading carmakers and electronics giants, commercial development is still extremely limited. Major roadblocks remain in the way of both device performance and industrial-scale processing. pv magazine recently caught up with solid-state’s research community for a look at where the technology stands.

Analyst IHS Markit has predicted storage will rebound this year following its first year-on-year decline in 2019. The technology is being rolled out at pace despite Covid-19 with state-level policies set to keep the US the global capital for the next five years.

The inaugural event will be attended by prime minister Narendra Modi, ministers from all the International Solar Alliance member countries and high-level dignitaries from global R&D institutions.

Companies investing in battery energy storage have historically relied on trust in the major brands supplying the batteries and complete systems. However, with the absence of international manufacturing quality standards, increasing price pressure on major brands, and the proliferation of low-cost manufacturers, buyers and investors are being forced to address quality risks with batteries. Ian Gregory and Benjamin Sternkopf of PI Berlin discuss the need for independent quality assessment in energy storage.