Floating solar PV plants are an emerging form of PV systems that float on the surface of drinking water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals or remediation and tailing ponds. Floating and land-based PV systems have a similar layout. The only difference is that the PV arrays and often the inverters are mounted on a floating platform. The direct current (DC) electricity is generated by PV modules, gathered by combiner boxes and...

Converters of solar energy with concentrators are used to produce both electric and thermal energy. Power plants with parabolic mirrors or a central receiver in combination with thermal energy storage systems allow the concept of efficient storage of renewable energy to be implemented on a large scale. Concentrators in combination with photovoltaics can significantly increase the efficiency of solar modules. Recent engineering advances...

The current review includes key statistical indicators that were identified as a result of the analysis of patent applications filed in the patent offices around the world in 2018 on topics related to the conversion of solar energy using various types of concentrators. In total, during the patent search, as of the date of this review, 1,442 patent applications were identified, which were filed by 741 applicants from 43 countries and...

For many years scientists have been looking for a new generation of highly efficient, low-cost and easy-to-process solar cells. To improve the materials for solar cells researchers need to get a better understanding of how these materials function at the atomic and electronic scales. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) have shown outstanding performance in the recent years. Owing to their...

The thin-film solar cell is a device which converts light into electrical energy and is made up of layers of a photon-absorbing material deposited over a flexible substrate. Thin-film solar cells were originally developed in the 1970s and have improved over the years so that now the global thin-film solar cell market is growing at an unprecedented rate. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a commonly used III-V semiconductor compound for...

NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) is one of the largest electric power companies in North America and a leader in the renewable energy. The company operates approximately 45,500 megawatts of net generating capacity and employs approximately 14,300 people in 33 states and Canada. During 2018, NEE conducted its operations principally through its two wholly owned subsidiaries, FPL and NEER. With one of its principal subsidiaries, NextEra...

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited or shortly “Yingli Solar,” is one of the world’s leading solar panel manufacturers. Yingli Green Energy’s manufacturing covers the photovoltaic value chain from ingot casting and wafering through to solar cell production and solar panel assembly. Headquartered in Baoding, China, Yingli Green Energy has more than 20 regional subsidiaries and branch offices and has distributed more than 85...

Canadian solar is one of the world's largest solar power companies and a leading provider of solar power products, services and system solutions with operations in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia. The company designs, develops and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules and other solar power products. Canadian Solaris is incorporated in Canada and conducts most of its...

Silicon solar cells, with silicon as the only absorbent material, are widely used in installations around the world today, but this technology is slowly reaching its limits in terms of maximum efficiency levels. Tandem solar cells, on the other hand, exhibit higher efficiency as they combine several different absorbent materials, which allows them to make better use of the solar irradiance spectrum. Now, for the first time researchers...

Producing renewable fuels and other useful materials from carbon dioxide that has been pulled from the atmosphere has become one of the most important tasks for modern fuel research. The catalysts in use, which can perform this conversion, are usually made from expensive metals. Now, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered an inexpensive and environmentally safe method to create a clean chemical system...