Photovoltaic Research News

July 19, 2018

Community Banks and Credit Unions Report Success with Solar Loans, NREL Report Finds

A new NREL report finds that community and regional financial institutions , such as community banks and credit unions, are experiencing positive early performance of loans for photovoltaic systems.

June 18, 2018

REopt Lite's Application Programming Interface Boosts Solar+Storage Analysis Flexibility

NREL released an API for REopt(TM) Lite, enabling streamlined integration with other tools inside and outside NREL and allowing building owners and researchers to evaluate the economics of grid-connected solar PV and battery storage at multiple commercial sites. The API opens opportunities for research collaboration and broader market impact, driving solar and storage deployment.

June 12, 2018

Enhanced Resilience Features Help REopt Lite Users Size Solar+Storage Systems to Support Critical Building Loads

NREL's REopt Lite web tool now offers enhanced resilience analysis capabilities that allow building owners and energy managers to size PV and storage systems to meet a specified outage duration and compare the sizing and costs of a resilient system with a system sized to maximize savings.

May 29, 2018

News Release: NREL Researchers Measure Impact of Eclipse on Electrical Grid

A recent analysis from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that, during last summer's total eclipse, solar energy output in the West dropped by about 5.9 gigawatts (GW).

April 25, 2018

Low- and Moderate-Income Residences Can Help Modernize the U.S. Electric Grid

Pairing solar photovoltaics with rooftops of low and moderate-income housing represents an opportunity to help modernize the U.S. electric grid and improve energy affordability in low-income communities

April 24, 2018

NREL Researchers Create New Materials With Unusual Properties

Few scientists reference Kurt Vonnegut in their academic journals, but researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found the parallels between his work and theirs compelling. Both invoke polymorphism--the ability of a material to adopt multiple crystal structures.

April 20, 2018

NREL and Hawaiian Electric Navigate Uncharted Waters of Energy Transformation (Part 2)

NREL and the Hawaiian Electric Companies are evaluating energy trends and simulating future grid scenarios to ensure stability--and their findings could help other islands, and even mainland states, apply similar solutions.

April 20, 2018

NREL and Hawaiian Electric Navigate Uncharted Waters of Energy Transformation (Part 1)

NREL helped the Hawaiian Electric Companies respond to new stability challenges associated with the rapid addition of solar power and other renewables to Hawaii's six isolated island grids.

April 12, 2018

NREL Research Pushes Perovskites Closer to Market

NREL has played a significant role in the increased efficiency of perovskite solar cells.

April 10, 2018

News Release: New Solar PV Tool Accurately Calculates Degradation Rates, Saving Money and Guiding Business Decisions

A new software package developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and industry partners SunPower and kWh Analytics is making the measurement of PV system expected lifetime performance more reliable, consistent, and accurate.

April 9, 2018

New Analysis Finds Synergistic Relationship Between High PV Penetration and Energy Storage Deployment

Adding higher penetrations of solar photovoltaics (PV) to the electric power grid could increase the potential for energy storage to meet peak demand, according to new analysis from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

April 5, 2018

News Release: Perovskite Technology is Scalable, But Questions Remain about the Best Methods

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.

April 3, 2018

News Release: NREL Opens Large Database of Inorganic Thin-Film Materials

An extensive experimental database of inorganic thin-film materials that organizes a decade's worth of research at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is now publicly available.

February 8, 2018

News Release: Cost-Reduction Roadmap Outlines Two Pathways to Meet DOE Residential Solar Cost Target for 2030

January 30, 2018

News Release: NREL Scientists Demonstrate Remarkable Stability in Perovskite Solar Cells

Researchers at NREL created an environmentally stable, high-efficiency perovskite solar cell, bringing the emerging technology a step closer to commercial deployment.

January 16, 2018

News Release: NREL, University of Texas Scientists Determine Critical Factor for Improving Performance and Durability of Perovskite Solar Cells

A microscopic analysis of perovskite solar cells reveals new insight into how the devices degrade--information necessary for moving the technology closer to commercialization.

January 12, 2018

NREL to Host Ninth Annual PV Reliability Workshop

NREL will host the ninth annual PV Reliability Workshop from Feb. 27 to March 1 in Lakewood, Colorado. Sessions at the workshop will cover key topics in reliability, such as stability of high-efficiency modules, module soiling, inverter reliability, monitoring and failure detection, international standards, and accelerated testing of modules.