Solar24news

13/12/2025

Daily Short News: Sheep sustain solar site beside West Virginia coal plant

Mon Power, a FirstEnergy subsidiary, uses sheep to manage vegetation at the 18.9-MW solar site next to the coal-fired Fort Martin Power Station in West Virginia. The facility, which began operating in early 2024, partners with Sivic LLC, whose 350 sheep grazed the site and were rotated every four to six days with temporary fencing to ensure consistent vegetation control. The grazing approach supports efficient solar operations, assists local farmers, and lowers environmental impact. The sheep return to their Pocahontas County farm for winter and will resume grazing in spring. Fort Martin is the first of three solar projects totaling 30 MW developed by Mon Power and Potomac Edison on brownfields. Customers supporting renewables can purchase SRECs that certify solar energy generation on their behalf.

12/12/2025

Daily Short News: Optimized for desert-region utility-scale solar projects

Chinese manufacturer Huasun has launched the Himalaya HSN-212-B132 heterojunction (HJT) solar module, rated for 2,000 V systems and offering up to 770 W output. The 132-cell, bifacial, double-glass module achieves 23.5–24.8% efficiency, with 49.66–50.46 V open-circuit voltage and 18.62–19.33 A short-circuit current. Efficiency gains come from large-format G12 wafers, high screen-to-body ratio, and negative-gap layout, increasing effective cell area and output. A split-cell architecture and perforation-free butyl rubber edge seal enhance shading tolerance and moisture resistance. Compatible with 2,000 V systems, the module reduces cable, combiner, foundation, and land requirements, delivering BOS savings and a first-year degradation of 1%, followed by 0.3% annually, guaranteeing ≥90.3% output after 30 years.

11/12/2025

Daily Short News: 30-year lifespan cables for diverse solar terrains

Spanish manufacturer Sumcab unveiled two new cables, ToughGround and Overground, at the Genera trade fair in Madrid. ToughGround is a robust, ultra-resistant cable for underground PV installations, designed for direct trench placement without ground preparation and suitable for all soil types, including floodplains. It resists rodent damage, water, low temperatures, crushing, and abrasion, with impact resistance up to 35 joules, making it ideal for challenging terrain. Overground is a low-voltage cable for overhead PV systems, strung on metal poles with technical hangers, reducing underground work and environmental impact. It features UV+ protection against solar radiation, halogen-free (HF) flame-retardant material, and high impact resistance. Both cables are designed for rapid installation, offer a 30-year lifespan, and comply with major international standards (EN 50618, UL1581, HD605), ensuring durability in various conditions.

10/12/2025

Interesting! 😍😍

08/12/2025

Daily Short News: Dual-buffer layer enhances performance of bendable solar cells

Chinese manufacturer Longi achieved 33.35% efficiency for a 1 cm² flexible perovskite–silicon tandem solar cell. Built on a 60 μm-thick silicon wafer, the cell can be folded in half with a 15 mm bending radius and weighs only 4.38 g. A dual-buffer layer strategy enhances interfacial adhesion and charge extraction, critical for flexible devices under mechanical stress. The first SnOx layer, deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD), protects the perovskite and transport layers, while a second SnOx layer, added by chemical v***r deposition (CVD), optimizes charge extraction and reduces resistance with the C60 layer. The top cell includes the SnOx bilayer, C60, transparent IZO back contact, Ag contact, perovskite absorber, LiF layer, and an EDAI-based hole transport layer. Under standard illumination, the 1 cm² cell reached 33.35% efficiency, 1.996 V open-circuit voltage, 19.77 mA/cm² short-circuit current, and 84.5% fill factor. A larger 260 cm² M6 wafer cell achieved 29.8% efficiency. The flexible tandem cells maintain over 97% of their initial efficiency after 43,000 bending cycles and ~97% after 250 thermal cycles, demonstrating excellent durability.

07/12/2025

Daily Short News: Removable “solar tables” enable flexible solar installations

New modular, removable solar systems can be installed directly on asphalt, providing solar energy without major construction. These systems, available as “solar tables” and shaded structures, feature 6.15 kWp units with two rows of five panels. Their ballasted design allows flexible coverage of existing buildings or parking areas with minimal groundwork. Installation for a 100 kW system typically takes 6-7 days with a three-person team, while DIY kits are also available. The modular structures are easily expandable and adaptable to different panel models, offering a practical solution for retrofitting solar power into existing infrastructure quickly and efficiently.

06/12/2025

Daily Short News: Cyber threats spur cooperation among South Korean inverter firms

Seven South Korean inverter makers have created a new industry council to coordinate domestic production and address rising cybersecurity risks linked to foreign equipment that dominates the market. More than 80 percent of inverter sales come from Chinese imports, some containing unauthorized communication modules that raise concerns about data access and remote manipulation. The council aims to strengthen policy proposals, protect local technology and improve supply chain resilience. South Korea’s inverter market is valued at up to KRW 1 trillion a year but relies heavily on ODM hardware. Government plans to install 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030 are expected to boost demand for secure domestic inverters. Similar concerns have emerged in Europe, where industry groups warn that connected inverters and cloud systems face threats including ransomware and grid disruption. Authorities in several countries urge reducing dependence on Chinese technology and expanding local manufacturing.

06/12/2025

Clean energy, in the most literal sense.🤩

01/12/2025

Daily Short News: LUT researchers analyze prosumer solar PV dynamics

Rooftop solar PV has been a key driver of the global energy transition, from Charles Fritts’ selenium cell in 1883 to modern silicon-based PV. Currently, rooftop PV accounts for around 40% of annual installations and is expected to hold roughly 25% market share by the mid-2030s. Researchers at LUT University have studied optimization of self-consumption for PV prosumers, seasonal hydrogen storage, and market attractiveness in Europe. Their results show that maximizing self-consumption is economically beneficial, but average ratios reach only 50%, leaving room for improvement. The studies emphasize the need to accurately model rooftop PV and prosumers in energy system planning, including benefits of HSAT systems and bifacial PV. Floating offshore PV and agrivoltaic applications provide additional potential. Overall, the diversity and details of solar PV technologies must be reflected in energy system modelling to inform proper policy and industrial decisions.

30/11/2025

Daily Short News: Longi achieves world record 27.81% efficient silicon solar cell

Scientists from the Chinese solar manufacturer Longi have detailed in a new paper the 27.81% efficient hybrid interdigitated back-contact solar cell unveiled in April 2025. The cell achieved the world’s highest efficiency for silicon solar cells, certified by Germany’s ISFH institute. It is based on passivated tunneling contacts, dielectric passivation layers, and incorporates both n-type and p-type contacts. The team used a high-resistivity, half-cut M10 wafer, optimized n-type contacts, an ITO layer for lateral transport, and a multilayer AlOx and SiNx coating to minimize recombination. Phosphorus doping in the n-type polycrystalline silicon was reduced to limit dopant diffusion. Edge passivation was achieved with a combined temperature process and the a-Si layer was crystallized with a green laser. The cell reached 27.81% efficiency on a 133.63 cm² active surface, with 5698 mA short-circuit current, 744.9 mV open-circuit voltage, and 87.55% fill factor. These techniques, including laser crystallization and in situ edge passivation, can be scaled for heterojunction solar cell production.

29/11/2025