Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

The Biden Administration is expected to revoke tariff exemptions on bifacial solar modules following a petition led by Qcells, a company with a multi-billion-dollar investment in U.S. manufacturing.

Sunmaxx PVT, a photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) solar module specialist, has built an automated 50 MW module factory near Dresden, Germany.

US news outlets have reported resident concerns about leaked toxins from solar facilities in Texas that were damaged by a hailstorm. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has rejected the reports, which contained categorically false information.

The U.S. based developer of steel PV module frames said its products are an alternative to conventional aluminum frames. They passed several third party tests as the company readies production and evaluations by module manufacturers.

A U.S.-based team developed a vapor deposition technique to fabricate outperforming all-inorganic perovskite thin films in under 5 minutes in a continuous process. The adoption of the proposed approach may also result in higher perovskite solar cell power conversion efficiencies.

Researchers in Spain claim to have recorded the highest power conversion efficiency result for a four-terminal tandem organic cell to date. The device is based on an ultrathin transparent silver electrode.

The Chinese manufacturer said its new frameless module can be installed on a balcony through nylon cable ties, without the need for any mounting structure. The new product features a power output of 200 W and a power conversion efficiency of 16.2%.

A Saudi research group has assessed how polymeric coatings, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), could be used for radiative cooling in photovoltaic panels and has found that both materials could reduce the operating PV module temperature by between 1.15 C and 1.35 C.

The European Commission (EC) has proposed the European Solar Charter (ESC) in response to the challenges facing the continent’s solar manufacturing industry. The document sets out a series of voluntary actions to be undertaken to support the EU photovoltaic sector and bears no mention of EU trade tariffs or restrictions on cheap solar panel imports.

Europe’s solar boom is hiding its waste through exports, according to a new study. Instead of recycling, as expected under European regulations, vast amounts of solar panel waste are exported, undermining sustainability goals. The researchers suggest a digitized value chain as a potential fix to work toward a circular economy.