Hacker News with Generative AI: Solar Energy

Show HN: Optics Challenge – Design a solar concentrator for a non-round sun (nonimaging-conference.org)
The challenge: Design a reflective solar concentrator with the highest possible efficiency, but designed for a sun with the shape "XX" instead of the regular round shape.

Solar Energy, Optics, Engineering, Design Challenges

10 points by hakonjdjohnsen 12 days ago | 0 comments

Dutch Households with solar panels face significant revenue loss (nltimes.nl)
Households in the Netherlands with solar panels are seeing their annual returns shrink by 300 euros to nearly 500 euros due to rising feed-in charges and lower solar yields in 2024.

Solar Energy, Netherlands, Economics, Energy Policy

6 points by belter 12 days ago | 4 comments

Despite rising domestic demand, India's solar modules export will go up by 2030 (indiatimes.com)

India, Solar Energy, Exports, Domestic Demand

4 points by rustoo 24 days ago | 0 comments

How balcony solar is taking off (theguardian.com)
“If 1.5 million Germans have bought solar balcony kits there must be something in it,” he says.

Solar Energy, Germany, Renewable Energy

5 points by doener 30 days ago | 1 comments

Solar desalination and electrolysis system with energy recovery and storage (sciencedirect.com)
Agricultural activities in remote desert locations face significant challenges due to high water and energy demands and the lack of necessary infrastructure.

Solar Energy, Desalination, Water Management, Energy Storage

8 points by PaulHoule 30 days ago | 0 comments

Ann Arbor hopes to bring rooftop solar to the masses by creating a utility (bridgemi.com)
In the shadow of a presidential election dominated by rhetoric about job-killing EVs and the virtues of fossil fuels, the residents of one Michigan city voted this fall to embrace solar energy.

Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Local Government, Michigan

7 points by toomuchtodo 34 days ago | 2 comments

A surprise solar boom reveals a fatal flaw in our climate change projections (vox.com)
When the satellites zoomed in, you could see the panels gleaming from space. Pairing images taken miles above the Earth with Chinese customs records, BloombergNEF solar analyst Jenny Chase and her team discovered this year that the rooftops of homes and factories across Pakistan are blanketed with solar panels.

Climate Change, Solar Energy, Technology, Research

30 points by rntn 47 days ago | 29 comments

Solar is the fastest-growing energy technology in history (bsky.app)

Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Energy Technology, History

24 points by JumpCrisscross 48 days ago | 10 comments

Sol-Ark manufacturer reportedly disables all Deye inverters in the US (solarboi.com)
Seemingly at the drop of a hat the morning of Friday, Nov 15th, Deye-branded inverters across the US were reportedly intentionally bricked with the message:

Solar Energy, Hardware, Manufacturing, Technology, News

290 points by walterbell 49 days ago | 307 comments

India adds 20 GW of solar in 12 months to October (pv-magazine.com)
India added 30 GW of new power capacity in the 12 months to October 2024, bringing cumulative installations to 454 GW, according to SBI Capital Markets. Renewables accounted for 22.5 GW of the additions, with solar alone contributing 20 GW.

India, Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Power Generation

10 points by rustoo 49 days ago | 0 comments

Global Solar Council announces 2 terawatt milestone achieved for solar (globalsolarcouncil.org)
November 8, London – The Global Solar Council leads the worldwide solar industry today in the celebration of achieving 2 TW of installed solar PV capacity against the backdrop of a Donald Trump presidency in the U.S. and a pivotal COP29 slated to begin next week in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Climate Change, International Organizations

45 points by mooreds 50 days ago | 26 comments

Surprise solar surge in Pakistan shocks experts, and grid (dw.com)
Pakistan has grown its solar energy capacity by an astounding amount in a remarkably short space of time. The shock surge has given residents the power to survive blackouts, but it threatens to disrupt the grid.

Pakistan, Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Power Grid, Energy

4 points by rustoo 51 days ago | 1 comments

Why India's latest Sun mission finding is crucial for the world (bbc.com)
Scientists in India have reported the “first significant result” from Aditya-L1, the country’s first solar observation mission in space.

Space Exploration, India, Science, Solar Energy

5 points by tartoran 52 days ago | 1 comments

Why everyone missed solar's exponential growth (exponentialview.co)
Hi, it’s Azeem. Here’s a shocking reality check: every major energy forecaster has been wrong about solar power uptake. So wrong, in fact, that when I recently offered a $1,000 bet on solar’s explosive growth, not a single expert would take me up on it. This isn’t just a forecasting error – it’s a systematic blind spot.

Solar Energy, Energy Forecasting, Technology, Investing

46 points by xbmcuser 58 days ago | 41 comments

Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries (news.mit.edu)
MIT engineers have built a new desalination system that runs with the rhythms of the sun.

Solar Energy, Desalination, Engineering, Sustainability

132 points by bentocorp 61 days ago | 45 comments

I built an expandable solar roof for my Tesla (reddit.com)
Hello Reddit, this is an update of the last year worth of work on a personal project of mine -- placing an expandable solar array on my Tesla. And like all the past builds, the blueprints will be online for anyone to access. The last prototype Beta2 had lots of great feedback, and I am excited to share RC1 (Release Candidate 1).

DIY, Solar Energy, Tesla, Open Source, Renewable Energy

6 points by somid3 63 days ago | 3 comments

100-MW solar farm just broke ground in Wisconsin (electrek.co)
National Grid Renewables has broken ground on its 100 MW Apple River Solar Project in Polk County, Wisconsin.

Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Wisconsin, Project Updates

43 points by belter 63 days ago | 57 comments

Csiro opens $6.8M printing facility to make flexible solar panels (abc.net.au)
Solar panels that can be printed out like newspapers and rolled up to fit in your pocket are one step closer thanks to a new development by the national science agency.

Solar Energy, Printing, Technology, Innovation

5 points by CharlesW 73 days ago | 0 comments

Toyota to buy clean power from a $1.1B solar farm in Texas (electrek.co)
Enbridge, a Canadian energy company, just announced it’s moving forward with an 815-megawatt (MW) solar project called Sequoia in Texas.

Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Texas, Business, Energy

62 points by peutetre 76 days ago | 44 comments

Visualization of Solar Growth versus Predictions (twitter.com)

Solar Energy, Data Visualization, Predictions

4 points by doener 93 days ago | 0 comments

How the US Lost the Solar Power Race to China (bloomberg.com)
It all starts with a crystal.

Solar Energy, China, United States, Economics, Competition

11 points by toomuchtodo 109 days ago | 2 comments

US' largest solar panel maker First Solar debuts its $1B 3.5GW Alabama factory (electrek.co)
First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) inaugurated its new $1.1 billion fully vertically integrated thin-film solar factory in Lawrence County, Alabama.

Solar Energy, Manufacturing, Alabama, Renewable Energy, Business

25 points by toomuchtodo 111 days ago | 4 comments

$1B Solar and Battery Storage Project Breaks Ground in Utah (electrek.co)
Renewables developer rPlus Energies has broken ground on one of the largest solar + battery storage projects in the US, in east-central Utah.

Renewables, Energy Storage, Utah, Solar Energy

66 points by m463 115 days ago | 34 comments

A $1B solar and battery storage project just broke ground in Utah (electrek.co)

Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Battery Storage, Utah

3 points by isaacfrond 116 days ago | 0 comments

Even solar energy's biggest fans are underestimating it (vox.com)
Solar power deployment is exceeding even the most optimistic forecasts.

Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Climate Change, Energy

61 points by toomuchtodo 120 days ago | 83 comments

Home solar energy systems exploded in several areas of Beirut (abcnews.go.com)
Lebanon's official news agency reports that home solar energy systems exploded in several areas of Beirut.

Solar Energy, Lebanon, Accidents, Beirut

49 points by geox 121 days ago | 86 comments

Namibia, China signs pact for its biggest solar plant (bloomberg.com)
Namibia’s state-owned electricity provider signed a pact with Chinese companies to build what will be the country’s biggest solar photovoltaic plant.

Namibia, Solar Energy, China, Renewable Energy

7 points by Capstanlqc 129 days ago | 5 comments

20% more powerful perovskite solar panels enter commercial use (oxfordpv.com)
Oxford PV announces world-first commercial sale of next-generation perovskite tandem solar panels set to transform the energy industry and accelerate progress towards clean energy goals.

Solar Energy, Clean Energy, Renewable Energy

110 points by akamaka 131 days ago | 152 comments

Oxford commercializes its 20% more powerful solar panels in the US (electrek.co)