Solar Energy News

After more than 10 years' work, scientists in Spain have a developed a carbon gel that enables carbon dioxide to be turned into hydrocarbons by electro-catalytic transformation.

A new analysis points the way to optimizing efficiency of an integrated system for harvesting sunlight to make storable fuel.

Before a photovoltaic installation may be constructed, engineers calculate, for some selected days in the year, when and where the interfering light reflections occur, especially if airports, highways or larger residential areas are close by. In the future, this will be easier and more comprehensive: with software that creates a three-dimensional depiction of the glare at the touch of a button.

As the U.S. national power-grid network becomes larger and more complex, achieving reliability across the network is increasingly difficult. Now scientists have identified conditions and properties that power companies can consider using to keep power generators in the desired synchronized state. The design could help reduce both the frequency of blackouts and the cost of electricity as well as offer an improved plan for handling the intermittent power sources of renewable energy, which can destabilize the network.

Scientists are using a novel fabrication process to create ultra-efficient solar energy rectennas capable of harvesting more than 70 percent of the sun's electromagnetic radiation and simultaneously converting it into usable electric power.

Engineers and scientists have pioneered a new technique to analyze PCBM, a material used in polymer photovoltaic cells, obtaining details of the structure of the material which will be vital to improving the cell's efficiency.

A new method of harvesting the sun's energy is emerging. Though still in its infancy, the research promises to convert sunlight into energy using a process based on metals that are more robust than many of the semiconductors used in conventional methods.

Researchers have demonstrated that graphene is able to convert a single photon that it absorbs into multiple electrons that could drive electric current -- a very promising discovery that makes graphene an important alternative material for light detection and harvesting technologies, now based on conventional semiconductors like silicon.

Scientists have demonstrated a process whereby quantum dots can self-assemble at optimal locations in nanowires, a breakthrough that could improve solar cells, quantum computing, and lighting devices.

During a chance encounter with what appears to be an unusually strong blast of solar wind at Saturn, NASA's Cassini spacecraft detected particles being accelerated to ultra-high energies. This is similar to the acceleration that takes place around distant supernovas.

Researchers have found a way to passivate silicon at room temperature, which could be a significant boon to solar-cell production and other silicon-based technologies.

Researchers have reached a remarkable 10.7 percent efficiency single-junction microcrystalline silicon solar cell, clearly surpassing the previous world record of 10.1 percent held by the Japanese company Kaneka Corporation since 1998. Such significant efficiency, independently certified, was achieved with less than two micrometers of photovoltaic active material – 100 times less than with standard techniques.

Researchers have shown that a recently discovered class of materials can be used to create a new kind of solar cell.

Researchers in Italy and the UK have reviewed the economic, social and environmental impact of hydro, coal, oil, gas and nuclear power. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but of these conventional electricity generation technologies, hydroelectric power appears to be the most sustainable and acceptable environmentally and economically. Nuclear and coal run a close second place but oil or gas-fired power stations are revealed to be the worst choice when considering the various factors overall.