A team of researchers at MIT has arrived at a low-cost solution for the power loss associated with partly shaded solar panels: using the solar cell as an energy storage itself. The Unified Solar team won the MIT Clean Energy Prize this year for its clever, affordable solution to the fact that "shade happens."
Shade Costs. When clouds or trees pass over a panel, they can reduce output by 30% or more, but when each panel contains a smart chip, the individual cells are optimized, greatly reducing that loss.
