Photovoltaic technology has been intensively developed as one of the most powerful renewable energies, replacing a fossil fuel such as coal and petroleum. Every country in the world has emphasized on development of photovoltaic technology and our government has invested heavily in low cost and high efficiency. Korea institute of industrial technology (KITECH) has lastingly constructed PV R&D infra for development of cost-effective and high efficiency solar cells as well as support of commercialization in PV's small and medium enterprises. In this paper, we introduce the next generation PV R&D and infra in KITECH.

Tidal current energy is the most interesting renewable resources that have been less harnessed. Korea has globally outstanding tidal current energy resources and it is highly needed to develop a tidal current energy conversion system. It is reported that the total amount of available tidal current energy is approximately 6GW in Korea. A good tidal site candidate is required a large amount of fast moving water, bathymetry and seabed properties, no conflicts with other users and is close to a load and grid interconnection. In this review, we summarized the results of R&D projects regarding tidal current resources, utilization projects and demonstration test bed.

Piezoelectric nanogenerators are energy harvesting device to convert a mechanical energy into an electric energy using nanostructured piezoelectric materials. This review summarizes works to date on piezoelectric nanogenerators, starting with a basic theory of piezoelectricity and working mechanism, and moving through the reports of numerous nanogenerators using nanorod arrays, flexible substrates and alternative materials. A sufficient power generated from nanogenerators suggests feasible applications for either power supplies or strain sensors of highly integratedl nano devices. Further development of nanogenerators holds promise for the development of self-powered implantable and wearable electronics.