Author: solarenergy

Osaki Electric says it has signed an agreement to formalize the joint development of its AI-based energy management system (EMS), integrating solar power generation and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery storage. The aim is to sign a final contract by December 2026. March 2, 2026 Brian Publicover Osaki Electric Co., a Tokyo-based EMS specialist, has signed an agreement with Kyocera Corp. and two subsidiaries of Taiwan Plastics Group to formalize a joint development structure for its AI-powered energy management system. The companies said they aim to conclude a final contract by the end of December 2026. The “SmaRe:C” system concept…

The four-terminal transparent perovskite solar cell uses an ion-modulated spiro-MeOTAD hole transport layer, which passivates interfacial defects, improves carrier dynamics, and enables a tunable work function in wide bandgap perovskites. When integrated into mechanically stacked 4T tandems with an n-TOPCon cell, the device achieved an overall efficiency of 28.4–30.2%, along with improved open-circuit voltage and fill factor. March 2, 2026 Emiliano Bellini Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay have fabricated a four-terminal (4T) transparent perovskite solar cell based on a hole transport layer (HTL) that suppresses interfacial recombination while improving photoluminescence quantum yield and quasi-Fermi level splitting. “The…

This week, Women in Solar+ Europe gives the voice to Charmaine Coutinho, Director – EMEA Energy Transition at the British FTI Consulting. She says the energy transition requires inclusive systems that actively involve underrepresented groups, ensuring diversity and equality at all levels. Drawing from decades of industry experience, she emphasizes that intentional mentorship, sponsorship and transparent leadership are essential for meaningful change and career impact. February 27, 2026 Women in Solar+ Europe The energy transition is a global shift. It is connected geographically and geopolitically across borders – even if the networks we are trying to adapt are national legacies.…

Organic semiconductors are thin, flexible materials that already underlie many consumer displays, and researchers now report a strategy that allows these materials to both efficiently emit light and harvest energy in the same device. Their work focuses on multifunctional organic components that can act as both organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic elements without sacrificing performance in either role. In conventional designs, light emission and energy generation place conflicting demands on excitons, which are bonded pairs of electrons and positively charged holes. Efficient electroluminescence requires excitons to recombine robustly to produce photons, while efficient photovoltaics requires excitons to quickly dissociate…

Weidmuller USA has its WM4 C PV connectors for advanced solar energy applications. With rugged and reliable crimp contacts that support up to 1,500 V, these UL-approved PV connectors are compatible with residential, commercial and utility solar systems. Designed with an anti-tamper locking mechanism, the WM4 C PV connectors provide a durable solution for any PV connection. Weidmuller connectors have one crimp contact for 4 mm² and 6 mm² (12 AWG and 10 AWG) cables, are CSA approved and rated up to IP67. As an added benefit, Weidmuller offers two styles of PV connectors – coupling connectors for panels and…

The Department of Energy (DOE) order sets new rules for mandatory energy storage, including a minimum capacity of at least 20% of the installed power plant capacity. DOE also calls for energy storage system (ESS) installations to have grid support capabilities, such as grid-shaping inverters to help stabilize voltage and frequency. February 27, 2026 Matthew Lynas The 40 MW/60 MWh Alaminos Energy Storage system, developed by ACEN, is connected to the 120 MW Alaminos solar farm in the Philippines. Image: ACEN By ESS news Developers building intermittent renewable power plants in the Philippines with a capacity of 10 MW or…

Penn Engineers have proposed a solar-powered orbital data center architecture that can scale to meet growing demand for artificial intelligence without drawing electricity from terrestrial networks. The concept uses flexible, tether-based structures in orbit to house thousands of computing nodes for AI inference, relying on established space tether technology rather than massive rigid platforms or huge constellations of independent satellites. The design resembles a green plant, with multiple stems containing computer hardware and branching, leaf-like solar panels. Each trunk is essentially a long cable, populated with identical nodes containing computer chips, solar power systems and cooling hardware, forming a modular…

Residential solar energy company Renewbrook energy has acquired the majority of PosiGen Solar’s residential project portfolio following the company’s bankruptcy at the end of 2025. PosiGen was a multi-state solar energy contractor that underwent several employee layoffs in 2025 before closing. The company missed an interest payment on a credit facility in August 2025 after expanding its operations earlier that year, ultimately laying off hundreds of people to make up for costs. Renewbrook is a newly formed subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, an investment firm that has lent Posigen $600 million since 2023. During the bankruptcy proceedings, Renewbrook acquired those…

By pv magazine USA Silver has become one of the most important materials in the transition to clean energy. It is essential for solar photovoltaics, and solar energy is no longer a small consumer of silver. It is becoming one of the biggest drivers of demand, while at the same time ore grades are declining and supply is becoming increasingly difficult to expand quickly. In other words, even as solar energy becomes cheaper and more efficient, the material base is tightening. This is not just an academic concern. The price of silver reached a record high this month ($95 per…

Sunlight has a wide range of wavelengths, but many solar technologies utilize only part of that spectrum, limiting their efficiency. Researchers have now shown that small self-assembled gold spheres known as supraballs can capture almost all wavelengths in sunlight, including those that conventional photovoltaic materials often miss, and can significantly increase the absorption of solar energy when used as a coating on standard devices. Gold and silver nanoparticles are attractive for solar energy applications because they are relatively simple and cost-effective to produce. However, the light absorption of conventional metal nanoparticles is largely limited to visible wavelengths, meaning they affect…