461 articles
Nanowire solar cells
Nanowire solar cells are photovoltaic devices whose light-absorbing semiconductor is shaped as micrometer-long wires or pillars, reducing reflection and material use; III–V designs reached 17.8% efficiency.
Narrow-bandgap perovskite
A narrow-bandgap perovskite is a mixed tin-lead metal-halide semiconductor with a bandgap near 1.2 eV, serving as the bottom light absorber in all-perovskite tandem solar cells.
National Solar Radiation Data Base
The National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB) is a free, publicly available collection of hourly solar radiation and meteorological data produced by NREL for solar energy planning.
National Solar Thermal Test Facility
The National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) is a U.S. Department of Energy facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, run by Sandia National Laboratories for concentrating solar power research.
Near-field thermophotovoltaic converters
A near-field thermophotovoltaic converter is a solid-state heat engine where a hot emitter and photovoltaic cell separated by a nanoscale gap exceed the blackbody limit.
Nickel oxide hole transport layer
A nickel oxide hole transport layer (NiOx HTL) is a transparent, chemically stable inorganic film used as the hole-selective contact on the illuminated side of inverted perovskite solar cells.
Non-fullerene acceptor
A non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) is an organic electron-accepting molecule that replaces fullerene derivatives in organic solar cells, whose tunable properties have pushed power conversion efficiencies past 20%.
Non-radiative recombination
Non-radiative recombination is the annihilation of an electron–hole pair in a semiconductor without emitting a photon, wasting energy as heat and limiting solar cell voltage.
Nonfullerene tandem organic solar cells
Nonfullerene tandem organic solar cells are stacked photovoltaic devices whose organic sub-cells use non-fullerene acceptors to harvest complementary parts of the solar spectrum, reaching over 21% efficiency.
Noor Energy 1
Noor Energy 1 is a 950 MW hybrid solar power plant in Dubai, the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex
The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex, also called the Ouarzazate Solar Power Station, is a concentrated solar power complex near Ouarzazate, Morocco, with about 580 MW of capacity.
NX Horizon
NX Horizon is a horizontal single-axis solar tracker made by Nextpower, formerly Nextracker, for utility-scale solar plants, with rows that rotate independently on their own motors.
NY-Sun
NY-Sun is New York State's incentive program for solar installations, launched in 2012 and administered by NYSERDA, which pays installers cash incentives based on system size and location.
Oak Hill Solar Facility
The Oak Hill Solar Facility is a pair of community solar farms with battery storage in Duanesburg, New York, developed by Eden Renewables and owned by PureSky Energy.
Oak Ridge Solar Farm
Oak Ridge Solar Farm is a 200 MW utility-scale solar power plant in northeastern Louisiana, developed by AES Clean Energy and opened in December 2023 as Louisiana's largest.
Open-circuit voltage deficit
The open-circuit voltage deficit is the difference between a solar cell's theoretical Shockley–Queisser voltage limit and its measured open-circuit voltage, a figure of merit for photovoltaic quality.
Organic solar cell
An organic solar cell, also called an organic photovoltaic (OPV) device, is a solar cell that converts light to electricity using carbon-based semiconductors, with certified efficiencies now above 20%.
Organic tandem solar cell
An organic tandem solar cell (OTSC) is a photovoltaic device stacking two or more organic subcells that absorb different parts of the solar spectrum, first demonstrated in 1990.
Parabolic dish concentrator
A parabolic dish concentrator is a dish-shaped solar collector that focuses sunlight onto a receiver at its focal point, holding the highest recorded CSP efficiency, 31.25 percent.
Parabolic trough
A parabolic trough is a line-focus concentrating solar power system in which long parabolic mirrors focus sunlight onto a receiver tube, heating a fluid that drives a turbine to generate electricity.
Particle receiver
A particle receiver is a type of solar receiver for concentrating solar power in which falling sand-like particles, rather than fluid in tubes, absorb sunlight and store heat above 700 °C.
Passivating contact
A passivating contact, sometimes called a passivating junction, is a contact in a silicon solar cell that suppresses carrier recombination and transports only one carrier type to the electrode.
Pastoria Solar Project
The Pastoria Solar Project is a 105 MW solar power plant in Kern County, California, built by Calpine and completed in 2026 to help decarbonize the State Water Project by 2035.
PbI2 passivation in perovskite solar cells
PbI2 passivation is the deliberate use of excess lead iodide at perovskite solar cell surfaces and grain boundaries to reduce carrier recombination, first demonstrated in 2014 and widely adopted since.
PbS quantum dot solar cell
A PbS quantum dot solar cell is a photovoltaic device using lead sulfide nanocrystals as the absorber, tunable to capture infrared light; record efficiency is 15.45%.
PERC (solar cell)
PERC, or Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell, is a silicon solar cell architecture invented by Martin Green's team at UNSW in 1983, dominant from 2018 until TOPCon displaced it from 2025.
Performance ratio
The performance ratio (PR) is a dimensionless metric for photovoltaic systems, comparing actual delivered energy to ideal output under standard test conditions; typical values run 75 to 90 percent.
Performance-based rate
A performance-based rate is a solar incentive paying per kilowatt-hour of measured production over several years, used by the California Solar Initiative and Austin Energy, unlike up-front rebates.
Perovskite encapsulation
Perovskite encapsulation is the sealing of perovskite solar cells in barrier materials, usually glass with a polymer layer and edge seal, to protect them from moisture and heat.
Perovskite mini-module
A perovskite mini-module is a small photovoltaic module in which perovskite solar cells are monolithically series-interconnected on a single substrate, typically 200 to 800 cm².