Special solar panels could work when the sun goes down

What if solar panels could generate power when there's no sunlight? It could be possible with the right solar cell, reasearchers say.

Andy Fell-UC Davis • futurity
Jan. 30, 2020 ~3 min

For cheaper solar cells, thinner really is better

Solar panel costs have dropped lately, but slimming down silicon wafers could lead to even lower costs and faster industry expansion.

David L. Chandler | MIT News Office • mit
Jan. 26, 2020 ~8 min


Study: State-level adoption of renewable energy standards saves money and lives

MIT researchers review renewable energy and carbon pricing policies as states consider repealing or relaxing renewable portfolio standards.

Nancy W. Stauffer | MIT Energy Initiative • mit
Jan. 22, 2020 ~13 min

‘Detours’ might lead to better batteries

Defects could actually make batteries better, which could affect transportation, electronics, and solar power energy storage, researchers report.

Mike Williams-Rice • futurity
Dec. 31, 2019 ~4 min

How a few tweaks revived near-dead solar tech

Researchers had all but given up on emerging organic solar cell technology, but chemical tweaks brought them back from the brink. Here's how it worked.

Ben Brumfield-Georgia Tech • futurity
Dec. 30, 2019 ~6 min

Thin films could make solar panels better and cheaper

A new kind of semiconductor made from barium zirconium sulfide instead of silicon could pave the way for better solar panels, LEDs, and sensors.

Charlotte Hsu-Buffalo • futurity
Dec. 26, 2019 ~4 min

The uncertain role of natural gas in the transition to clean energy

MIT study finds that challenges in measuring and mitigating leakage of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, prove pivotal.

David L. Chandler | MIT News Office • mit
Dec. 16, 2019 ~9 min

Women in STEM: Dr Jenny Zhang

Dr Jenny Zhang is a group leader and BBSRC David Phillips Fellow in the Department of Chemistry, where she is re-wiring photosynthesis to generate renewable fuels. Here, she tells us about why she switched from cancer research to sustainability, how her Fellowship programme is helping her develop leadership skills, and why eggs in her childhood home would regularly go missing.

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Dec. 5, 2019 ~6 min


Clear, conductive coating could protect advanced solar cells, touch screens

New material should be relatively easy to produce at an industrial scale, researchers say.

David L. Chandler | MIT News Office • mit
Nov. 22, 2019 ~5 min

‘Messy’ production of perovskite material increases solar cell efficiency

Discovery means simpler and cheaper manufacturing methods are actually beneficial for the material’s use in next-generation solar cells or LED lighting.

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Nov. 11, 2019 ~6 min

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