Heading Into 2021: Technological Advancements in Solar
As we approach the end of 2020, solar remains in a state of constant innovation. Technological advances continue to improve as we find new ways to increase the conversion of light to electricity. Today, you can build a system with less panels, less labour, less wiring, and in a smaller footprint than you could a few years ago, opening the doors for a multitude of new users and utility-scale projects.
Bifacial Solar Panels Offer Lowest Levelized Cost of Energy for Solar
Bifacial PV is currently a hot trend in solar. While bifacial panels are still more expensive than traditional monofacial panels, they offer a significant increase to energy production in the right circumstances. This means a quicker payback and a lower Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for the solar project. In fact, a recent study conducted by Joule shows that bifacial-1T installations (meaning a bifacial solar array mounted on a single-axis tracker) increase energy yield by 35% and reach the lowest levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for the majority of the world (93.1% of the land area).[1] These numbers are likely to improve as production costs continue trending downward and new efficiencies in the technology are discovered.