Solar News From Solar Daily - 24/7 News Coverage of the Solar Energy Industry

Bright future for solar panels and screens with new nanocrystal research
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 16, 2024 Curtin University researchers have made a significant discovery that could enhance everyday technology, from TV screens to solar panels and medical diagnostics. The study, led by Associate Professor Guohua Jia, revealed how to increase the number of molecules, known as ligands, that adhere to zinc sulfide nanocrystals by manipulating the shape of these tiny particles. Associate Professor J

Space Solar and Transition Labs to bring space solar power to Iceland by 2030
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
London, UK (SPX) Oct 22, 2024 Space Solar, a leading company in space-based solar power, has partnered with Transition Labs to provide Reykjavik Energy with electricity from the world's first space-based solar power plant. This plant, expected to be operational by 2030, will have an initial capacity of 30 MW. Space Solar's new solar power system will orbit the Earth, capturing solar energy and transmitting it wirelessl

Mercedes opens electric car battery recycling plant
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Frankfurt, Germany (AFP) Oct 21, 2024 Mercedes-Benz inaugurated Monday a plant for recycling electric vehicle batteries in Germany, with the luxury carmaker's boss hailing a "key milestone" in boosting the sector's sustainability. The plant, in the southwestern town of Kuppenheim, will have an annual capacity to recycle 2,500 tonnes of material which will feed into producing some 50,000 batteries for the group's electric models.

Chinese EV battery giant CATL reports jump in profits
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Beijing (AFP) Oct 18, 2024 Chinese electric vehicle battery behemoth CATL reported a 26.0 percent jump in third-quarter profits on Friday but still fell short of analyst expectations. Founded in 2011 in the eastern coastal Chinese city of Ningde, CATL produces more than a third of the EV batteries sold worldwide. They are used in models from a long line of foreign manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volks

Computer simulations offer new insights into enhancing solar cell materials
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Oct 16, 2024 Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have made progress in understanding halide perovskites, a promising class of materials for solar cells. These materials could serve as an efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional silicon-based cells, but they face challenges with stability. The new insights are expected to aid the development of more reliable and efficie

Sandia evaluates heat shields for Mars Sample Return and Titan missions
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 16, 2024 Sandia National Laboratories' National Solar Thermal Test Facility is utilizing solar energy to simulate the intense heat experienced during atmospheric reentry and hypersonic flight. The latest tests aim to support NASA missions, including the Mars Sample Return campaign, a joint effort with the European Space Agency to bring Martian rock samples to Earth for analysis. These samples could revea

Streamlined perovskite solar cells offer path to cheaper, more efficient energy
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 11, 2024 Researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) have developed a new fabrication method that enhances the efficiency, stability, and affordability of perovskite solar cells, bringing them closer to commercial viability. Published in 'Science', this study highlights how a simplified device structure designed by the CityUHK team could pave the way for future industrial-scale production

Telescopes could help power isolated communities in Chile's Atacama Desert
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Paris, France (SPX) Oct 13, 2024 New research published in 'Nature Sustainability' reveals that integrating a renewable energy system for the AtLAST telescope in Chile's Atacama Desert could meet 66% of the energy needs of the nearby town of San Pedro de Atacama, offering a dual solution for both scientific infrastructure and local communities. The proposed system would reduce dependence on fossil fuels, benefiting the ob

The ZEUS Project to harness solar energy in space with nanowire technology
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Madrid, Spain (SPXR) Oct 10, 2024 The University of Malaga (UMA) is collaborating in an international consortium to advance the collection and transmission of solar energy in space through the 'ZEUS' project, part of the Horizon EIC Pathfinder Challenges. This European project, coordinated by Lund University in Sweden, has been awarded nearly euro 4 million to develop innovative nanowire solar cells designed to operate in the h

UK announces new investment in green energy projects
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
London (AFP) Oct 10, 2024 The UK government on Thursday announced that it had secured more than GBP24 billion ($31.3 billion) of private investment in green energy projects, as it gears up for an international investment summit. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the investments "a huge vote of confidence" in his Labour government and its long-term growth plans, despite a stuttering start in power since the party's ele

China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Beijing (AFP) Oct 10, 2024 Strong state support and huge private investment have made China's solar industry a global powerhouse, but it faces new headwinds, from punitive tariffs abroad to a brutal price war at home. Officials meeting in Baku next month for the COP29 summit hope to agree on new finance targets to help developing countries respond to climate change, including ditching fossil fuels. Last year, coun

Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries
22 Oct 2024 at 11:09pm
Boston MA (SPX) Oct 09, 2024 MIT engineers have built a new desalination system that runs with the rhythms of the sun. The solar-powered system removes salt from water at a pace that closely follows changes in solar energy. As sunlight increases through the day, the system ramps up its desalting process and automatically adjusts to any sudden variation in sunlight, for example by dialing down in response to a passing


Newsfeed display by CaRP
Solar Energy News, Analysis, Education

Global Renewable Energy Capacity Surging to New Heights
21 Jul 2023 at 12:53pm
by Ryan Regan
Russia’s prolonged war in Ukraine roiled global energy markets, forcing fossil fuel prices up, and helped cement energy security as a dominant policy area focus in Europe and beyond. These trends and the continued price competitiveness of renewable energy are combining to boost global solar and wind capacity to historic heights. IEA Report Outlines Record […] The post Global Renewable Energy Capacity Surging to New Heights appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Texas Emerges as Solar’s Latest Hotspot As Legislative Threats Emerge
16 May 2023 at 1:51pm
by Ryan Regan
California has long been the state where the solar industry has shined the brightest across residential, commercial, and utility-scale markets. That fact largely remains true today, but Texas is emerging as an ascendant solar energy powerhouse that is poised to give a major lift to national renewable energy generation goals. Texas Solar Capacity Hits Peak […] The post Texas Emerges as Solar’s Latest Hotspot As Legislative Threats Emerge appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Solar Manufacturing Growth Picks up in U.S.
6 Feb 2023 at 7:04pm
by Ryan Regan
Manufacturers of solar panels, inverters, and related solar energy components have overwhelmingly been based in China over recent decades as few countries around the World could compete with China’s combined natural resource and low-cost manufacturing advantages. While China’s supply chain stranglehold is likely to persistent for some time, recently announced investments by solar manufacturers in […] The post Solar Manufacturing Growth Picks up in U.S. appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Floating Solar Panels Sail Forward
7 Dec 2022 at 3:43am
by Ryan Regan
As solar energy has become more mainstream, solar panels have found their way onto more and more unique places, from theme parks to airports to old landfill sites. Floating solar panels offer an even more creative use for solar that fundamentally alters conventional assumptions about solar generation opportunities. How Do They Work? Solar panels themselves […] The post Floating Solar Panels Sail Forward appeared first on Solar Tribune.

NIMBYism Threatens to Stymie Solar Progress
27 Oct 2022 at 5:32pm
by Ryan Regan
The solar industry has arguably never been in a better position in the wake of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). A rise in NIMBY-inspired land-use policies, however, is threatening to disrupt some of that optimism. A Worrying Trend The passage of the IRA is a seminal moment for the solar industry that […] The post NIMBYism Threatens to Stymie Solar Progress appeared first on Solar Tribune.

IRA Passage Ushers in New Era of Stability for Solar Industry
13 Sep 2022 at 5:50pm
by Ryan Regan
It only took Congress 34 years, but a federal law to meaningfully address the harmful effects of climate change – the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – finally passed the body and was signed into law by the President just weeks ago. The first congressional hearings on climate change were held way back in 1988, and […] The post IRA Passage Ushers in New Era of Stability for Solar Industry appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Global Heat Wave Puts Solar Panels to the Test
2 Aug 2022 at 5:27pm
by Ryan Regan
July was a scorcher of a month, with many countries and prominent cities across the world experiencing record-breaking temps. You may think that this was good news for the world’s solar industry as the Sun was seemingly working in overdrive, but in fact, blazing temps can greatly complicate solar generation efforts. This year’s hot summer […] The post Global Heat Wave Puts Solar Panels to the Test appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Rooftop solar: Good for the economy, good for the grid
27 Jul 2022 at 4:29pm
by Rebecca Snow
Solar continues to create jobs, investment, economic development and grid resilience while reducing energy costs for utilities, businesses, industry and consumers. It reduces the environmental impact on air, water and carbon.  And amazingly, it can be placed atop your house. Guest Post by Tim Echols, Originally posted in the Athens Banner-Herald Tim Echols is Vice-Chair of the Georgia Public Service […] The post Rooftop solar: Good for the economy, good for the grid appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Solar Panels Helping Old Landfills Embrace a Greener Future
30 Jun 2022 at 12:53pm
by Ryan Regan
As the solar industry has matured over recent decades, solar panels have found their way onto more and more unusual places. Cars, lakes, airports, and Disney World are just a few examples. Although notably less sexy than those examples, solar arrays placed on capped landfills are definitely becoming “a thing” that continues to gather more […] The post Solar Panels Helping Old Landfills Embrace a Greener Future appeared first on Solar Tribune.

The Rise of Agrivoltaics
3 Jun 2022 at 6:18pm
by Ryan Regan
Once upon a time, a common argument by solar energy skeptics was that expansive solar farms would overtake large swaths of American farmland, to the eventual detriment of American farmers seeking to grow crops or raise livestock. The industry has grown and matured in such a way that not only rebuffs this concern but shows […] The post The Rise of Agrivoltaics appeared first on Solar Tribune.

The Solar Powered Cars are Coming…Sort of
4 May 2022 at 6:26pm
by Ryan Regan
The electric vehicle and solar energy markets are both simultaneously growing at record clips, which begs the question, why haven’t cars powered entirely by the sun taken root as the next big thing? On the surface, the prospect of a car powered by an infinite and free power source that is never “off” sounds like […] The post The Solar Powered Cars are Coming…Sort of appeared first on Solar Tribune.

Cleaning Innovations Key to Solar PV Efficiency
2 Apr 2022 at 1:30pm
by Ryan Regan
The efficiency of a solar energy system’s individual PV panels and the amount of sun exposure that said panels receive play a pivotal role in the system’s over ability to harness solar energy. Keeping the surface of the solar panel clean is critical to achieving optimal efficiency and getting the most out of your system. […] The post Cleaning Innovations Key to Solar PV Efficiency appeared first on Solar Tribune.


Newsfeed display by CaRP