December 22, 2020
Silicon solar cells deserve a pat on the back for ushering in the renewable energy revolution, but now it’s time for more efficient, less expensive technology to take the wheel. If you guessed that means perovskites, run right out and buy yourself a cigar. In the latest development, the UK firm Oxford PV has just announced that its new perovskite solar cells have set a world record for conversion efficiency. That sets the stage for broader access to photovoltaic technology, and that spells yet another headache for fossil energy stakeholders.
With a new generation of record-breaking perovskite solar cells on the horizon, the PV revolution has only just begun (photo courtesy of Oxford PV).
New approach to III-V tandems sets 32.9% efficiency record
A collaboration between the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Australia s University of New South Wales has yielded a new efficiency record of 32.9% for a tandem cell device utilizing III-V materials. Key to the achievement was a new technique enabling the researchers to take advantage of quantum wells in the material that serve to trap charges and enable tuning of the cell bandgap to absorb more of the light spectrum.Solar cells manufactured from gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium indium phosphide (GaInP) have long yielded some of the highest conversion efficiencies of any technology, .
Top 20 NREL Stories of 2020
Dec. 22, 2020
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers and staff reached countless goals and achieved numerous successes in science, partnerships, and technology commercialization in 2020, from breaking world records to launching new initiatives. Here are just a few of the highlights. Click on each headline to read more.
January 2
An oft-repeated refrain the sun does not always shine, is sometimes seen as an impediment to renewable energy. But it is also an impetus toward discovering the best ways to store that energy until it is needed.
January 28
During fiscal year 2019, NREL filed a record 124 patent applications and counted a
Oxford PV pushes tandem SHJ/perovskite cell conversion efficiency to record 29 52% pv-tech.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pv-tech.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The batteries that could make fossil fuels obsolete
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The twin smokestacks of the Moss Landing Power Plant tower over Monterey Bay. Visible for miles along this picturesque stretch of the north Californian coast, the 500-foot-tall (150m) pillars crown what was once California s largest electric power station – a behemoth natural gas-fired generator. Today, as California steadily moves to decarbonise its economy, those stacks are idle and the plant is largely mothballed. Instead, the site is about to begin a new life as the world s largest battery, storing excess energy when solar panels and wind farms are producing electricity and feeding it back into the grid when they re not.