Photovoltaic solar energy is being deployed quickly on rooftops, in fields, on landfills and in other unusual places. It can also be artfully integrated into the built environment, merging objective value with subjective pleasure. Here are five of pv magazine favorite cartoons of 2021:

French organic PV module manufacturer Armor and Dutch designer Marjan van Aubel designed transparent organic PV modules for the Dutch pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai, the Universal Exhibition to be held in the United Arab Emirates in October.Van Aubel specializes in incorporating solar cells into furniture, windows and other objects. In this project, she used “ASCA” from Armor transparent organic solar cells to create colorful modules in which lines and patterns interact with each other.

Transparent panels generate electricity for the pavilion and simultaneously let sunlight enter its spaces and filter the spectrum of light to allow the photosynthesis of plants located inside the building.

“Van Aubel demonstrates that solar panels, while collecting energy, can be beautiful and an art form too, ”Armor said in a statement, adding that the graphic design is done with a colorful moiré effect, which is an interference pattern produced by layering, but slightly staggered, patterns.

Soltech Energy, a Swedish photovoltaic systems integrator and supplier of solar products, is building several photovoltaic facades in its home market. It recently installed a 646.6 kW solar facade on a newly built garage with 300 electric vehicle charging stations in Gothenburg, Sweden, adopting a special design it developed for buildings with flow models. particular air.

Air flow in the garage is high due to vehicle exhaust fumes. The facade is open, so the air exchange does not need to be measured, as it is well beyond the levels required for garages, according to the company. He also claims that the air flow is beneficial for the temperature of the panels.

“The facade is built with semi-transparent modules which require a certain angle of inclination and, at the same time, it is placed on a wall of the building which requires a high exchange of air flow between its interior and exterior parts” , the company’s main innovation officer, Anna Svensson, said pv magazineThe solar facade connected to the grid supplies the garage with electricity, which has around 300 charging stations for electric cars. The system consists of 1,096 frameless semi-transparent glass-to-glass panels with a transparency of 40% and an output of 54 kW.

An origami-inspired umbrella that can power a refrigerator was designed by an innovation company created by MIT, architects and an Italian brand of frozen desserts. The fold-out array is designed to be deployed in the sun, shading beach goers and generating photovoltaic energy that powers the nebulizers and removable coolers below. This helps keep beach goers, their Italian drinks and ice cream cool on a hot summer day.

The project was supported by Professor Chuck Hoberman of Harvard, promoter of “transformable design”, who worked with Italo Rota and MIT professor Carlo Ratti on the design. The modular system means multiple umbrellas can be strung together, leaving seaside resorts to be creative in how they incorporate technology. The umbrella is 8.2 feet tall, has a diameter of 10.5 feet, and includes panels all over the top.

Researchers from South Korea Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have demonstrated a very photovoltaic cell based on silicon which they claim shows unprecedented flexibility combined with remarkable power conversion efficiency.

Designed for applications in building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV), the solar cell was designed to be constructed with a 100 µm thick n-Si wafer and by photolithography perforating microholes that can allow light to be transmitted through the cell itself. .

The holes are arranged as a periodic array inside the device, which according to the research team ensures that the cell is very flexible, with a bend radius of 6mm. “The periodic hole array structure evenly distributes the stress on the device and suppresses the generation and propagation of microcracks,” they explained, noting that the structure was implemented by controlling the dry etching process.

In order to make the cell colored, scientists added organic dyes to its polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. PDMS is an organic based polymer commonly used in solar module backsheets.

One of Google’s newer buildings uses a building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) product called Dragonscale, made by European solar panel company SunStyle.

And it is magnificent.

The internet giant, which is also a global leader in clean energy supply, has installed around 7 MW of the product at two buildings on its Silicon Valley campus. The 90,000 individual solar panels will produce enough electricity to cover about 40% of the electricity use in buildings, known as Bay View and Charleston East.

The solar cells are embedded in a tough yet flexible polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) layer. Six millimeters of tempered solar glass protect the face of the panels; the back is protected by a layer of fire resistant Tedlar (polyvinyl fluoride). Because the edges of the tiles are sealed to prevent moisture – much like a glass-to-glass solar panel – an aluminum frame on the panel is not required.

The polyvinyl layer is a highly textured “prismatic” surface, which traps photons inside the solar panel that would normally escape from traditional flat solar panels. The result is an increase in the production of the solar panel.