Rigid silicon solar panels dominate the utility and residential markets, but opportunity exists for thin-film photovoltaic and emerging technologies notable for being lightweight and flexible, according to scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Thin films such as cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium galliumRead More

Shaving the peaks off commercial and industrial (C&I) electric bills is the top revenue stream for energy storage systems, and given the trend in increasing utility charges for time-of-use consumption, peak shaving can pay for a system in as little as three years, system providers say. Just how high theRead More

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) updated its publicly available online solar+storage optimization tool, REopt Lite, which can be used to determine the sizing of resilient power technologies designed to support critical services. Recent disasters in places such as Puerto Rico, where widespread outages contributed to devastating loss of life, underscore howRead More

One of the largest barriers to solar adoption on a wide scale is the wealth gap, and it will require more problem-solving than a mandate to overcome it. A new report released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows that nearly half (42 percent) of all the United States’Read More

Something that’s not talked about enough: one of the largest barriers to solar adoption and a game-changing move into a distributed generation future is the wealth gap. A new report released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows that nearly half of all the United States’ residential rooftop solarRead More

As perovskite solar cells set efficiency records and the nascent technology becomes more stable, another major challenge remains: the issue of scalability, according to researchers at the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). “It is scalable,” said Kai Zhu, a materials science researcher at NREL. “We just needRead More

How long a product can be expected to perform at a high level is a fundamental indication of quality and durability. In the solar industry, accurately predicting the longevity of photovoltaic (PV) panels is essential to increase energy production, lower costs, and raise investor and consumer confidence. A new softwareRead More

Over the past decade, perovskites have rapidly evolved into a promising technology, now with the ability to convert about 23 percent of sunlight into electricity, but work is still needed to make the devices durable enough for long-term use. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy LaboratoryRead More

Perovskite solar cells are the most tantalizing research category in the solar industry because of their efficiency and versatility, but thus far haven’t budged outside a lab setting. A microscopic analysis conducted by the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has revealed new insight into how the devices degrade— huge information forRead More

To expedite research and commercialization of new energy-related technologies, power management company Eaton and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have entered into a cooperative agreement to co-locate approximately 15 members of Eaton’s Corporate Research and Technology team at NREL’s Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF)Read More