Livermore Engineer Awarded $750,000 for Solar Research

An engineer from the Lawrence Livermore National Lab received $570,000 today to research technology that could improve the reliability of the photovoltaic cells used to generate solar power. The lab’s news release reported that the recipient is Mihail Bora, a research team member in one of the lab’s engineering divisions.

Bora will direct the funds to investigate the use of spectral imaging as a way of evaluating moisture buildup within solar cells. The award came through the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, a national effort to fund technological solutions that may make solar energy cost-competitive with traditional energy sources. Reliability plays a key role in solar’s competitiveness, Bora said.

The research may lead to the creation of a tool that would protect solar modules against costly water damage. Too much moisture inside solar photovoltaic components can cause corrosion of the metal parts, delamination and can decrease the overall efficiency of a solar module, according to the release.

There are two solar manufacturers that are included as partners in the research, MiaSolé HiTech Corp. and Prism Solar Technologies, Inc.

By Bay City News

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