Author: solarenergy

Researchers from Chonnam National University in the Republic of Korea report that a nanometer-scale germanium oxide layer can address a long-standing bottleneck in tin monosulfide thin-film solar cells by improving the rear contact surface with the metal electrode. They focused on tin monosulfide, or SnS, a non-toxic and inexpensive absorbent that uses elements abundant in the Earth and avoids indium, gallium and tellurium, while theoretically providing favorable optical and electronic properties for harvesting sunlight. In practice, measured efficiencies have fallen short of theoretical predictions due to structural defects, parasitic reactions, and atomic diffusion at the interface where SnS meets the…

U.S. energy storage deployments surpassed full-year 2024 levels within nine months, led by utility-scale projects and continued residential construction growth, according to industry data. December 17, 2025 Ryan Kennedy By ESS news U.S. energy storage installations have surpassed total deployments through all of 2024, according to a quarterly report from Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association (ACP). In the third quarter of 2025, more than 5.3 GW of energy storage was installed nationally. Quarterly installations increased 31% year over year. The third quarter remains the record quarter for deployments, with deployments down 6% quarter-over-quarter. For three quarters, the…

US researchers say a deep learning framework provides the most detailed view yet of how utility-scale solar uses land, revealing unexpected efficiency differences and clearer pathways for agricultural voltaics and brownfield development. December 16, 2025 Ryan Kennedy Image: Tom Brewster, Wikimedia Commons By pv magazine USA An academic article published in Communication Earth & Environment has introduced a systematic methodology that uses deep learning and high-resolution aerial imagery quantify the land required for utility-scale solar projects in the US Western Interconnection. The study aims to resolve previous inconsistencies in land use estimates by analyzing 719 solar installations and providing crucial…

In 2020, the Conesville power plant discontinued activities in Coshocton County, Ohio. For 62 years, the 2 GW coal-fired power plant provided electricity to the area east of Columbus. The Conesville Power Plant employed 600 local residents at its peak and supported about 80 in its final days. Conesville Power Plant. Credit: Conesville Industrial Park Financial advisor and Central Ohio resident Robert Black wants to bring energy jobs back to Coshocton, but this time of a green nature. Black is chairman Ohio sunshinea new company that plans to open a silicon solar panel assembly plant with an annual production capacity…

The latest analysis from Wood Mackenzie expects market uncertainty in China, Europe and the US to cause two consecutive years of contraction in the global solar inverter market, with a decline forecast to 577 GWac this year and 523 GWac in 2026. December 16, 2025 Patrick Jowett According to an analysis by CBS, the global solar inverter market will shrink over the next two years Wooden Mackenzie. The consultancy forecasts that the market will decline to 577 GWac in 2025, a decline of 2% year-on-year, followed by a further decline of 9% to 523 GWac in 2026. Wood Mackenzie says…

Industry leaders have recommended that buyers purchasing battery energy storage systems (BESS) look past the sticker prices and headlines during a period of 2015 pv magazine Webinar Week Europe 2025. In a session on what to look for when purchasing BESS, held as part of pv magazineDuring last week’s virtual conference, panelists discussed pricing, supplier and product reliability, and the prospects for battery storage in Europe. Ed Mulloy, Solution Engineer at Accure Battery Intelligence, said that because of the industry’s fixation on $/kWh, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are incentivized to “take the risk out of that number and build it…

Accelerated testing by French certification body Certisolis finds major performance differences and design vulnerabilities in tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar panels that current international standards do not address. December 17, 2025 Gwénaëlle Deboutte By pv magazine France French testing and certification laboratory Certisolis has released the first results of accelerated degradation tests conducted under its Optisol program, highlighting the performance differences of TOPCon solar panels. The Optisol campaign applies stress conditions beyond those required by the International Electrotechnical Commission standards IEC 61215 and IEC 61730, Certisolis said. “The aim is to go beyond the requirements of IEC 61215 and…

The New Orleans City Council has approved a $30 million Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program that will protect residents during power outages. The resolution establishes a citywide distributed energy resources (DER) program, creating a VPP of batteries installed in approximately 1,500 homes and 250 community settings in New Orleans, Louisiana. “This is a historic step toward protecting lives in New Orleans,” said Nathalie Jordi of the community organization Together New Orleans. “Rather than wait for the power grid to go down again, the city is building power at the neighborhood level that keeps people safe when it matters most.” The…

By Brad Kramer December 17, 2025 Fort Churchill Ruins in Nevada. After a five-month freeze, the Trump administration is allowing a major solar energy project to proceed. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management issued a decision report on December 15, a series of revisions to the Libra Solar project in southwestern Nevada will be authorized. Located about 20 miles south of the Fort Churchill substation in Yerington, Nevada, the $2.33 billion, 700 MW solar + storage project was originally approved during the Biden administration in September 2024. However, regulatory changes under President Donald Trump left Libra Solar indefinitely on hiatus…

Flexible perovskite solar panels are emerging as a candidate for lightweight, bendable solar photovoltaics, but maintaining high efficiency while maintaining long-term stability and low costs remains difficult. A research team from the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Zhengzhou University reports flexible perovskite solar panels with an energy conversion efficiency of more than 20 percent that can tolerate mechanical and environmental stress. The work focuses on single-walled carbon nanotube films used as window electrodes in scalable flexible perovskite solar panels. The team shows that single-walled carbon nanotube films are hydrophobic, which helps block moisture and…