Two-thirds of the world's new solar panels were installed in Europe in 2011
Europe accounted for two thirds of the world-wide newly installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity in 2011, with 18.5 GW. Its overall PV capacity totalled 52 GW. The yearly electricity produced by PV could...
View ArticleAnswer to energy transfer debate could impact areas from photovoltaics to...
(Phys.org)—The transfer of energy between two molecules spaced just nanometers apart plays a key role in many technologies, including photovoltaics, quantum information systems, lighting, and sensors,...
View ArticleAdvances in the understanding of how carbon nanotubes move charges created by...
(Phys.org)—A LANL team and collaborators have made advances in the understanding of how carbon nanotubes move charges created by light. The research has applications for cheap, all-carbon-based...
View ArticleThe installed price of solar photovoltaic systems in the US continues to...
The installed price of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the United States fell substantially in 2011 and through the first half of 2012, according to the latest edition of Tracking the Sun, an...
View ArticleImproved performance for solar cells: Highly efficient p-type dye-sensitized...
(Phys.org)—Photovoltaics continues to be an expensive technology. Dye-based solar cells may represent a more cost-effective alternative to traditional solar cells. In these cells, a dye is used in...
View ArticleBritish firm to build 'Africa's biggest solar plant'
British renewable energy firm Blue Energy announced Tuesday that it will build a giant solar power plant in Ghana which it claimed will become the biggest in Africa.
View ArticleFlexible organic photovoltaic cells with in-situ non-thermal photoreduction...
Researchers from Greece have demonstrated a groundbreaking methodology for controlled in-situ reduction of spin-casted graphene oxide (GO) nanometric films on flexible substrates and the subsequent...
View ArticleA new world record for solar cell efficiency
In a remarkable feat, scientists at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have developed thin film solar cells on flexible polymer foils with a new record...
View ArticleResearchers devise method to create efficient indium phosphate nanowire...
(Phys.org)—Robert F. Service has published a News & Analysis piece in the journal Science describing the progress being made in nanowire photovoltaics. One of those innovations is described in...
View ArticleBlack silicon can take efficiency of solar cells to new levels
Scientists at Aalto University have demonstrated results that show a huge improvement in the light absorption and the surface passivation of silicon nanostructures. This has been achieved by applying...
View ArticleResearch to probe deep within a solar cell
Engineers and scientists from the University of Sheffield have pioneered a new technique to analyse PCBM, a material used in polymer photovoltaic cells, obtaining details of the structure of the...
View ArticleBreakthrough promises significantly more efficient solar cells
A new technique developed by U of T Engineering Professor Ted Sargent and his research group could lead to significantly more efficient solar cells, according to a recent paper published in the journal...
View ArticleFully renewable electricity could be competitive
(Phys.org) —A carbon price of between $50 and $100 per tonne of carbon dioxide would make coal-fired and gas-fired power less economical than renewable electricity, a UNSW study shows.
View ArticleAccidental discovery may lead to improved polymers
Chemical Engineering Professor Tim Bender and Post-Doctoral Fellow Benoit Lessard's discovery of an unexpected side product of polymer synthesis could have implications for the manufacture of...
View ArticleNanostructures improve efficiency of solar cells
Researchers have been able to improve the efficiency of solar cells by coating the cell surface with extremely small nanoscale structures. The new technology has been shown to nearly eliminate the...
View ArticleSolar discovery sets new record for low-grade silicon
(Phys.org) —Solar engineers from UNSW have developed an innovative method to dramatically improve the quality of low-grade silicon, promising to significantly improve electrical efficiency and reduce...
View ArticleSolar panels as inexpensive as paint? It's possible due to new research
(Phys.org) —Most Americans want the U.S. to place more emphasis on developing solar power, recent polls suggest. A major impediment, however, is the cost to manufacture, install and maintain solar...
View ArticleResearchers achieve greater efficiency by manufacturing solar cells from...
Photovoltaic systems are indeed enjoying a boom worldwide, yet the situation for German manufacturers of solar cells and module is critical. The reasons for this are worldwide excess capacities and...
View ArticleNew additive offers near-perfect results as nucleating agent for organic...
(Phys.org) —Pixie dust may be the stuff of fanciful fiction, but for scientists at UC Santa Barbara's Department of Materials, a commonly used sugar-based additive has been found to have properties...
View ArticleRenewable energy use gaining worldwide: IEA
Renewables like solar and wind represent the fastest-growing source of energy power generation and will make up a quarter of the global power mix by 2018, the International Energy Agency said in a...
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