New Passivation Strategy Boosts Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cell Performance
Researchers at NIMTE and partner universities introduced a peak‑selective passivation technique that deposits a thin aluminum‑oxide layer on the pyramid peaks of silicon substrates using polystyrene nanospheres. The approach lifted perovskite/silicon tandem cell efficiency to 33.33%, with a certified value of 32.89% on a 1 cm² active area. Operational stability also improved, retaining roughly 90% of its initial performance after 1,000 hours of continuous illumination. The method is simple and compatible with existing manufacturing lines, moving the technology closer to commercial rollout.
The Data Center Panic Is Dumb
Opposition to AI data centers in the United States has surged, with local moratoriums climbing from eight in May 2025 to 78 a year later. Critics spread exaggerated claims that new facilities will raise state temperatures by 20‑28 °F, drain water supplies...
Sunnova’s Former CEO Is Bullish on Rooftop Solar Repair
Former Sunnova CEO John Berger has launched Otovo, a subscription‑based rooftop‑solar repair service, and reached 30,000 customers within three months. Two‑thirds of those users pay recurring fees of $9‑$49 per month for round‑the‑clock maintenance of solar, battery and generator systems....
Mnangagwa to Commission 10MW Kwekwe Solar Plant as Zimbabwe Pushes for Energy Independence
President Emmerson Mnangagwa will commission the first 10 MW phase of the New Glovers Solar Project in Kwekwe, a $20 million facility built by the Public Service Pension Fund. The plant features 18,600 panels, 31 inverters and two smart transformers, delivering roughly...
Exclusive: Western States Form New Bipartisan Geothermal Consortium
Western governors and nonprofits have launched the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium, a bipartisan effort spanning Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The group will coordinate permitting, financing and offtake agreements to accelerate next‑generation geothermal projects, leveraging public capital to attract...
Span Is Building a New Kind of Electric Utility
Span is turning residential electrical panels into a flexible grid resource, enabling homeowners to host AI compute nodes while avoiding expensive service upgrades. The company’s XFRA “distributed data center” leverages unused capacity, and its partnership with PG&E will see Span...
The Absence of the ‘Duck Curve’ on Monday 18th May 2026 Stands Out, in Recent History
On Monday 18 May 2026 the Australian National Electricity Market (NEM) saw an unusual flattening of the classic ‘duck curve.’ Cloud cover depressed solar output while wind generation recovered, keeping midday electricity prices elevated instead of the typical low‑price dip. Battery operators...
Dominion and NextEra Weigh a $400 Billion Megamerger
NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy are in advanced talks to merge, creating a utility conglomerate valued at over $400 billion. The combined entity would stretch from Dominion’s Virginia stronghold—home to a dense data‑center ecosystem—to NextEra’s Florida operations serving roughly six million...
Are Data Centres Moving to DC Power?
Data centre operators are revisiting direct‑current (DC) power as a way to trim energy costs for AI‑intensive workloads. By moving the AC‑to‑DC conversion from each server to a larger rack‑level supply, facilities can capture 10‑15% savings on total power budgets....
A Snapshot of the Generation Mix Across the NEM, on Monday Morning 18th May 2026
On Monday morning, 18 May 2026, a snapshot of Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) showed a dramatic dip in renewable generation due to extensive cloud cover over southeast Queensland. Solar output was heavily suppressed, and wind generation was also below typical levels,...
Trump’s Tax Law Is Slowing Down Projects and Piling Up Legal Work
The Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced foreign‑entity‑of‑concern (FEOC) rules that govern eligibility for clean‑energy tax credits. Because the Treasury has not clarified how to calculate foreign debt or equity exposure, developers, investors, and banks face uncertainty about...
South Carolina County Mulls Lifting Solar Ban
Berkeley County, South Carolina is weighing a lift of its 2023 solar moratorium after RWE petitioned to site a 198‑MW utility‑scale solar farm, citing a roughly 20% rise in electricity rates. At the same time, Hill County, Texas voted a...
$5 Million to Electrify the City of Melbourne Buildings and Pools, Plus some Ambitious Targets – Lord Mayor Nick Reece
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece announced a $5 million budget allocation to electrify municipal buildings and swimming pools as part of a broader push toward net‑zero carbon‑ready structures by 2040. He noted that HVAC systems account for roughly 40% of a...
~28 Years of History for the VIC-SA Interconnector, in One Chart
The VIC‑SA interconnector has logged 28 years of flow data, split into three distinct phases. From 1999‑2017 Victoria was the dominant exporter, averaging about +44 MW to South Australia. Between July 2017 and December 2020 the trend flipped, with SA exporting roughly –49 MW to...
Schneider, Microsoft Show How AI Can Enable Green Hydrogen Production
Schneider Electric and Microsoft announced a partnership to bring AI‑powered, open‑software automation to industrial processes, highlighted by a green‑hydrogen project in India. Together they deployed the country’s first fully autonomous solid‑oxide electrolyzer for h2e Power, achieving over 6,000 hours of stable operation...