Trina Solar has launched the first fully recycled silicon solar panel, using 37 patented technologies to reclaim materials from old modules.

China just solved the biggest problem in silicon photovoltaics by creating 100% recycled panels

Trina Solar has given a new twist to the sustainability of the photovoltaic industry with the world’s first fully recycled silicon solar panel, proving that it is possible to reuse them without compromising their efficiency. For context, solar panels last two to three decades before degrading significantly. The problem then is that they cannot be fully recycled or their refurbishment is very expensive.

Chinese manufacturer Trina Solar has created the first fully recycled crystalline silicon photovoltaic panel. The secret lies in the 37 recycling technologies patented by its researchers, which allow silicon, aluminium, glass and even silver to be separated and reused from discarded modules to assemble a new functional and equally efficient panel.

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Source: Reve

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Swiss firm Sun-Ways is testing a system to discreetly install solar panels between railway tracks, showcasing innovative photovoltaic design.

Invisible solar panels hide in railroad tracks to thwart critics

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Solar Panels In Railway Tracks: A Sensible Solution

Laying solar panels in between railroad tracks makes pretty good sense. The main criticisms of rural solar development involve appropriate land use and aesthetic issues, but those matters have long been settled for the many railroad rights-of-way criss-crossing the globe. Railroads are established, permitted, and permanent elements of modern infrastructure. Aside from freight yards and other busy parts of a rail system, railroads are also empty of traffic for long periods of time, allowing for ample sun exposure.

In addition, railroads can offer the solar industry the important element of flat and relatively level sites for development, without having to construct new access roads and other infrastructure. Although the flat configuration and the absence of tracking is not optimal for solar energy harvesting, that can be offset by the savings of reducing racking systems to the bare minimum. The railroad solution also enables developers to avoid disrupting natural habitats or taking space away from other potential land uses.

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Source: Clean Technica

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MIT engineers have built a new desalination system that runs with the rhythms of the sun which requires no extra batteries.

Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries

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 cloud or revving up as the skies clear.

Because the system can quickly react to subtle changes in sunlight, it maximizes the utility of solar energy, producing large quantities of clean water despite variations in sunlight throughout the day. In contrast to other solar-driven desalination designs, the MIT system requires no extra batteries for energy storage, nor a supplemental power supply, such as from the grid.

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Source: MIT News

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Solar windows generate clean energy while letting in light, aiding the shift from petroleum as the technology matures for widespread use.

It’s happening: See-through solar windows kick fossil energy to the curb

Big Milestone For See-Through Solar Window Firm

Innovators have come up with two main kinds of solutions for see-through solar windows. One consists of a thin solution of photovoltaic particles, which can be coated over window glass. The other involves steering sunlight towards the edges of a pane of glass, where it can be collected by silicon solar cells.

The latest development in the see-through solar window field comes from the Australian firm ClearVue, which has focused on the silicon solar cell pathway. The company has been making some big moves of late, having set up an office in San Jose, California.

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Source: Clean Technica

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Californians overwhelmingly agree that more solar is good for the state’s economy and will save California families money.

Californians overwhelmingly agree that everyone benefits when more people go solar

Nearly 9 in 10 Californians believe solar customers should be fairly compensated for the power they sell back to the grid, and 85% say the state should be doing more to encourage solar adoption, according to new polling released today by Global Strategy Group (GSG), North Star, and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

This broad consensus follows a series of decisions by state regulators that have hurt California’s solar industry, including a significant and rapid cut to compensation rates that solar customers receive for the unused power they sell back to the grid.

Californians overwhelmingly agree that more solar is good for the state’s economy and will save California families money. According to the poll, 84% of voters say that everyone benefits when more people go solar, and 79% don’t trust their utility to be honest about what is causing higher prices.

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Source: SEIA

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Scientists in Singapore created floating breakwaters with wave energy converters to lessen wave impact on offshore PV systems.

Power-generating breakwaters for floating photovoltaics

Researchers from the Singapore Institute of Technology have investigated the performance of new floating breakwaters (FBs) integrating wave energy converters (WECs).

The breakwaters are intended for use in offshore floating PV (OFPV) farms. “As the OFPVs move to the open sea, they are exposed to severe random waves and thus the design of the structure must take into consideration these cyclic loadings,” the research’s corresponding author, Zhi Yung Tay, told pv magazine. “There are few research works focusing on studying the effect of hybrid FB and WECs in mitigating the response of the floating solar PV farm and enhancing the wave energy extraction from the OFPV.”

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Source: PV Magazine

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Aetherflux aims to launch a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit to collect solar power and beam it to Earth using infrared lasers.

Startup takes new approach to space-based solar power

A startup led by a founder of a financial services company is taking a new approach to space-based solar power intended to be more scalable and affordable than previous concepts.

Aetherflux announced Oct. 9 plans to develop and ultimately deploy a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit that will collect solar power and beam it to Earth using infrared lasers. The company is planning to demonstrate this technology with a small satellite launching by early 2026.

The concept is a departure from many previous concepts for space-based solar power (SBSP), which have involved large arrays in geostationary orbit. Those systems would transmit their power using microwaves to large rectennas on the ground. Such concepts have been studied for more than half a century but have not advanced beyond the drawing board.

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Source: Space News

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Researchers developed a model to quantify the benefits of VIPV on the energy needs of 3 different sizes of electric vehicle in Graz, Austria

Quantifiying benefits of vehicle-integrated photovoltaics

Researchers have developed a model to quantify the benefits of vehicle-integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) solutions on three different sizes of electric vehicles (EVs) in the city of Graz, Austria, particularly the effect on battery energy and vehicle mileage.

The model revealed several key factors that affect energy harvesting and yield for EV traffic, including insight into weight ranges, surface areas to cover with PV, what type of PV, and energy consumption.

“Our study presents a simulation model that allows for adjustments to various parameters, including time, date, driving and parking cycles, and vehicle type. This model enables comparisons of solar energy production across different seasons and usage patterns,” Judy Jalkh, corresponding author told pv magazine, adding that it calculated solar PV contributions from vehicle zones, such as the roof, hood, trunk, and doors.

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Source: PV Magazine

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Smart Solar Billing is set to begin in IL on Jan. 1, 2025. Solar advocates have launched a website to teach consumers about the new system.

Illinois moving to “Smart Solar Billing” in 2025

Smart Solar Billing is set to begin in Illinois on January 1, 2025, and solar industry partners have launched a new webpage for consumers and companies to learn everything they need to know about the new billing system. Solar customers and businesses can visit the Solar Powers Illinois website to learn more about the changes to net metering and the new Smart Solar Billing system that will change the way residential solar and storage owners are reimbursed for the energy they sell back to their utilities.

Current residential solar and storage customers will be considered “legacy” customers and will continue to receive the same net metering benefits throughout the lifetime of their systems. Current Ameren customers are also able to expand their system by 100% and retain the “legacy” Net Metering benefit for the lifetime of the system expansion.

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Source: Solar Power World

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An IRA program meant to expand climate investment in underserved markets has its first target — a $31M commercial solar effort in Arkansas.

The $20B US ​‘green bank’ program just funded its first project

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the national green bank program created by the Inflation Reduction Act, has gotten off to a slow start — but the money has started to flow.

In April, a handful of nonprofit consortiums were selected to administer the $20 billion program. These groups face a hefty mandate: to use that federal funding to spur $150 billion or more of private-sector investment in climate and clean-energy projects, mostly for underserved communities.

But it isn’t simple to put that money to work. The projects they back must comply with the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative mandates, meet federal domestic-content and buy-American provisions, and follow complicated data-reporting requirements. Their loans and investments must also simultaneously reach hard-to-serve markets and earn returns that can be reinvested into future projects — while tempting private-sector investors to join in.

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Source: Canary Media

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