Solar energy news and discussion

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Composite material keeps solar panels cool, boosting longevity by more than 200%

by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-05-com ... -cool.html

A team of international researchers led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia has developed a new composite material made of acrylate that enhances the performance of solar cells. Adhering the composite material to solar cells deployed in Saudi Arabia for weeks significantly raised the power output and longevity while reducing the electricity consumed by the cells. The study can be read in Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports.

Solar energy is a major strategic target for green economies in many countries, and more than three quarters of renewable installations are solar cells. But reliable, long-lasting solar energy comes with major challenges. Commercial solar panels convert about 20% of the sun's rays into electricity. The rest is absorbed as heat or reflected.

Moreover, the heat reduces the performance and lifespan of the solar cells, meaning the cells must be replaced sooner than otherwise. Cooling the solar cells, therefore, is necessary, but cooling systems like fans and pumps need electricity. Passive cooling, on the other hand, does not.

"We specialize in materials that enable passive cooling. These materials are thin and can be placed on different systems that require cooling to operate, like greenhouses and solar cells, without affecting performance," said KAUST Professor Qiaoqiang Gan, who led the study.

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Solar Panels’ Shade Helps Boost Colorado Grassland Productivity in Dry Years
by Matthew Sturchio
May , 2025

Introduction:

(The Conversation) Grasses growing in the shade of a solar array were only a little less productive than those growing nearby in open grassland during years of average and above-average rainfall – but in a dry year, the shaded plants grew much better than those growing in full sun. That’s the result of a four-year study we conducted in a semi-arid grassland of northern Colorado.

When choosing a location for generating solar power, consistent sunlight and interconnection to the electric grid are key criteria. In Colorado the combination of new electrical transmission infrastructure, abundant sunlight and short vegetation that is easy to maintain have made grasslands a prime target for solar development.

Grasslands, like those that dominate the eastern plains of Colorado, provide important habitat for wildlife and serve as a critical food source for livestock. Although these grasslands have long been productive despite their normally arid environment, a warmer climate has increased the potential for more frequent and severe drought. For instance, a recent global study found that previous research likely underestimated the threat of extreme drought in grasslands.

At Colorado State University, biology professor Alan Knapp and I started the ecovoltaics research group to study the effects of solar development in grasslands. Our primary goal is to ensure an ecologically informed solar energy future.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/solar-pane ... -257082

Edit: Of related interest: https://theconversation.com/how-wind-a ... ve-260657

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Britons could soon install balcony solar panels in flats and rental homes

Mon 30 Jun 2025

Those living in flats or rented homes in the UK could soon plug in their own “balcony solar panels” to save on their energy bills under plans set out in the government’s solar power strategy. The proposals could mean that British households that are unable to install rooftop solar panels will soon join millions of people across Europe who generate their own electricity with “plug-in” panels.

These panels, found on balconies across Spain and Germany, can be plugged directly into a home’s power socket to generate solar electricity for the household.

The DIY panels are already fitted to about 1.5m balconies in Germany, where they are known as Balkonkraftwerk (balcony power plant). They typically save households about 30% on their energy bills and cost between €400-800, with no installation fees required, meaning they pay for themselves within six years.

There is also growing interest in balcony solar across Spain, Italy, Poland and in France. But in the UK, regulations do not currently allow plug-in solar, meaning bill payers in flats or rented homes are often blocked from benefiting from cheap solar power, while others face hurdles due to the relatively high upfront cost of installing traditional rooftop solar systems.

Michael Shanks, the energy minister, said: “Through solar, we are rolling out the quickest to build and one of the cheapest forms of energy for families to start saving hundreds on their energy bills, all while helping tackle the climate crisis.”

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ntal-homes



Credit: Tornasol Energy

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California Farmers Identify a Hot New Cash Crop: Solar Power
By Jacob Stid, Annick Anctil, and Anthony Kendall
July 16, 2025

Introduction:

(The Conversation) Imagine that you own a small, 20-acre farm in California’s Central Valley. You and your family have cultivated this land for decades, but drought, increasing costs and decreasing water availability are making each year more difficult.

Now imagine that a solar-electricity developer approaches you and presents three options:
• You can lease the developer 10 acres of otherwise productive cropland, on which the developer will build an array of solar panels and sell electricity to the local power company.
• You can select 1 or 2 acres of your land on which to build and operate your own solar array, using some electricity for your farm and selling the rest to the utility.
• Or you can keep going as you have been, hoping your farm can somehow survive.

Thousands of farmers across the country, including in the Central Valley, are choosing one of the first two options. A 2022 survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that roughly 117,000 U.S. farm operations have some type of solar device. Our own work has identified over 6,500 solar arrays currently located on U.S. farmland.

Our study of nearly 1,000 solar arrays built on 10,000 acres of the Central Valley over the past two decades found that solar power and farming are complementing each other in farmers’ business operations. As a result, farmers are making and saving more money while using less water – helping them keep their land and livelihood.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/california ... er-259653

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Japan sees bright future for ultra-thin, flexible solar panels
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-07-jap ... -thin.html
by Hiroshi HIYAMA

By 2040, Japan wants to install enough perovskite panels to generate 20 gigawatts of electricity, equivalent to adding about 20 nuclear reactors.

Japan is heavily investing in a new kind of ultra-thin, flexible solar panel that it hopes will help it meet renewable energy goals while challenging China's dominance of the sector.

Pliable perovskite panels are perfect for mountainous Japan, with its shortage of flat plots for traditional solar farms. And a key component of the panels is iodine, something Japan produces more of than any country but Chile.

The push faces some obstacles: perovskite panels contain toxic lead, and, for now, produce less power and have shorter lifespans than their silicon counterparts.

Still, with a goal of net-zero by 2050 and a desire to break China's solar supremacy, perovskite cells are "our best card to achieve both decarbonization and industrial competitiveness," minister of industry Yoji Muto said in November.

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Or your smart glasses or smart watch

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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... s?from=mdr

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GOP Senators Tell Trump to 'Back Off' Efforts to Strangle Wind and Solar Projects in Their States — and are Now Holding Up 3 of His Nominees
By Carl Gibson
August 4, 2025

Introduction:

(Alternet) Two Senate Republicans are now blocking a confirmation vote for three of President Donald Trump's nominees to positions in the U.S. Treasury Department in protest of one of the administration's newest policies.

Politico's Kelsey Tamborino and Josh Siegel reported Monday that Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Curtis (R-Utah) are now holding up votes for Treasury Department general counsel Brian Morissey, assistant Treasury Secretary Francis Brooke and Treasury Department undersecretary Jonathan McKernan. According to Politico, Grassley and Curtis are blocking the officials' confirmation to protect lucrative solar and wind energy projects in their states. And they're apparently not the only Senate Republicans willing to go to the mat for those projects.

"The pair, alongside other GOP senators, have escalated their pressure on the Trump administration in recent days to back off its efforts to strangle new solar and wind energy projects, warning that potential cancellations would make it harder to meet growing power demand," Tamborino and Siegel wrote.

One part of Trump's massive new tax and spending law is the repealing of renewable energy investments made possible by former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman detailed last month, the legislation will "kneecap America’s renewable energy industry" while making China the de facto world leader in green energy technology.

In July, Trump issued an executive order instructing the Treasury Department to "strictly enforce" provisions in the new law that end tax credits for renewable energy development, which would be the responsibility of the Treasury officials Curtis and Grassley are blockading. The order also specified when a project was said to have begun construction, which Grassley said goes against what Congress has already passed.

Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politic ... d0&ei=72

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