Author: solarenergy

Solar cycle today announced details of the solar panel recycling facility that will be built adjacent to the glass factory in Cedartown, Georgia. The 255,000 feet2 The recycling facility will have the capacity to recycle 2 million solar panels every year – almost 5 GW in total. SolarCycle will employ more than 1,250 workers in the recycling facility and glass manufacturing unit once both locations reach full capacity. “As Georgia continues to lead the nation in attracting jobs from emerging industries, we are grateful that SolarCycle is ramping up the creation of these opportunities in northwest Georgia, benefiting that entire…

Developed by Spanish scientists, the proposed model aims to reduce yield losses caused by the fact that north-south aligned single-axis trackers are often deployed on uneven east-west slopes. October 31, 2024 Emiliano Bellini Researchers from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) has developed a two-dimensional (2D) modeling tool for deploying large-scale bifacial PV installations using single-axis trackers over terrain with arbitrary orientation and slope. The proposed model aims to reduce yield losses caused by the fact that north-south aligned single-axis trackers are often deployed on uneven east-west slopes. “This article first outlines some relevant assumptions that standard PV software relies…

Researchers have analyzed how wind speed and direction affect the cooling of a rooftop PV installation with 10,806 panels. They say wind from behind was less effective due to the roof slope and the minimal gap between the panels and the roof, but wind from other directions could contribute to a cooling effect of up to 7 degrees Celsius. October 31, 2024 Lior Kahana Researchers from Turkey’s Bursa Uludağ University investigated the cooling effect of wind on rooftop PV installations. They measured temperature changes on a 57-hectare rooftop facility in the summer of 2023 and found that wind could have…

At 8MSolar, we’re always excited to explore cutting-edge solar technologies that could shape the future of renewable energy. Today, we’re learning about thin-film solar technology – an innovative approach to harnessing solar power that’s been gaining traction. What is Thin-Film Solar Technology? Thin-film solar technology represents a departure from traditional silicon-based solar panels. Instead of using thick layers of crystalline silicon, thin-film solar cells are made by depositing one or more thin layers of photovoltaic material onto a substrate. These layers are incredibly thin – often just a few micrometers thick, which is about 100 times thinner than traditional solar…

First Solar has released its version third quarter earnings for 2024, missed revenue expectations and a slight reduction in expectations for the full year 2024. The US solar panel maker reported revenue of $887 million, 17.6% less than expected, and earnings per share of $2.91 – about 8% lower than expected. The company adjusted its full-year revenue guidance to $4.25 billion from $4.1 billion, down from the previous range of $4.4 billion to $4.6 billion. First Solar reported a record quarter for production with 3.8 GW produced, and said it has a backlog of more than 73.3 GW of orders…

CSIRO facility launches flexible solar technology for broad real-world use Australia’s CSIRO has inaugurated a new $6.8 million facility in Clayton, Victoria, with the mission to take its flexible, printed solar technology from the laboratory to practical, real-world applications, meeting the growing need for sustainable energy solutions in various industries. Unlike traditional silicon-based solar panels, CSIRO’s flexible solar cells are printed on ultra-thin plastic films. This innovative approach results in solar cells that are both lightweight and portable, ideal for a range of applications including urban infrastructure, space exploration, defense, mining operations, emergency response, disaster recovery and wearable technology. Professor…

Researchers have developed a new deep learning method to predict ultra-short-term PV power using an optimization method based on the behavior of dung beetles. The proposed approach reportedly outperformed seven other conventional forecasting methods over a one-year period. October 30, 2024 Lior Kahana Scientists from China’s Hubei University of Technology have proposed a new deep learning model for ultra-short-term PV power prediction. The new technique combines temporal convolutional networks with self-attention (SATCN), bidirectional long-short-term memory networks (BiLSTM) and dung beetle optimization (DBO) and is therefore called DBO-SATCN-BiLSTM. “Existing methods for predicting photovoltaic energy generation have several shortcomings. Meta-heuristic learning methods,…

A team from Jeonbuk National University in South Korea used slot die coating (SDC) to produce uniform, high-quality perovskite films, which they used in a perovskite solar cell that achieved 19.17% efficiency and laboratory cell-sized modules that achieved an efficiency of 17.42%. October 30, 2024 Valerie Thompson A team from Jeonbuk National University in South Korea explored the use of slot die coating (SDC) to create high-quality uniform perovskite films as a step toward large-area production of perovskite devices. The scientists found that SDC increased the interface roughness of the hole transport layer (HTL), which improved the wettability of the…

Downwind renewable energy (LRE) has completed construction and achieved commercial operation of its 179 MW White Wing Ranch solar project in Yuma County, Arizona. Verizon Communications has supported the development of White Wing Ranch through a long-term power purchase agreement. The completion of White Wing Ranch brings LRE’s operating fleet to more than 3.3 GW. The White Wing Ranch solar project. Downwind renewable energy White Wing Ranch is located on approximately 1,400 acres of privately owned land and will supply renewable energy to the bulk electric grid through the 500 kV Hoodoo Wash Switchyard. This is the first of several…

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) has launched a tender for 1 GW of solar energy and 1.8 GW of wind energy. The ceiling prices for solar energy contracts are KRW 157,307 ($113.69)/MWh. October 30, 2024 Patrick Jowett Image: Daniel Bernard, Unsplash The South Korean MOTIE has opened a tender for 1 GW of solar energy. The ministry has released the publication details of the tender procedure, with a ceiling price of KRW 157,307/MWh for proposed solar projects. The ministry said this is an increase from last year’s limit, taking into account recent bid rates. “To promote…