The U.S. solar industry faces a moral dilemma, writes Paula Mints of SPV Market Research. Either continue to deploy projects and set aside concerns about forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, or source PV cells and modules from elsewhere, while bearing higher costs, in the pursuit of urgent action against climate change.

Polysilicon capacity is unable to catch up with rapid capacity expansion in the mid and downstream segments, writes Corrine Lin, chief analyst for PV InfoLink. New polysilicon capacity requires big capex investment and a lead time of more than two years to complete construction and reach full operation. With unbalanced capacity between the upstream and downstream segments, polysilicon prices have been rising since the second half of 2020, with prices for mono-grade polysilicon surpassing CNY 200/kg ($27.40) in June 2021, up more than 250% year on year.

In his second article, Philip Wolfe founder of Wiki-Solar lists the world’s largest individual solar PV power plants. The biggest solar parks and other clusters of plants will be listed in subsequent blogs.

The global single-axis tracker market increased shipment volume by 40% year on year to reach 45 GW in 2020. This was despite significant pandemic-related supply chain turbulence that resulted in longer lead times for the delivery of components, the idling of steelmaking capacity in some key markets, container shipping dislocation, and widespread restrictions, particularly at ports. Most notably, this caused the cost of some commodities, such as steel, to more than double between 2020 and 2021. Jason Sheridan, a senior research analyst for IHS Markit, runs through some of the key developments in the tracker market.

This summer, IHS Markit published its annual global ranking of EPC providers that build in-house developed and third-party PV projects, based on last year’s installations. 2020 was a year of many contradictions, with lockdowns and increasing component prices taking their toll on many of the companies, both large and small. At the same time, EPC providers with their main share of business in mainland China and the United States had a remarkable year.

A note issued by Norwegian analyst Rystad has hinted it may be time to consider abandoning the 1.5-degree average global temperature rise ceiling agreed upon in Paris six years ago, because the world will never be able to pump out enough solar panels in time.

An independent third-party has approved the European Commission’s safeguards to ensure the projects in member states financed by €250 billion of green bonds over the next five years, will have genuine emission reduction credentials.

‘More than 90’ suppliers of appliances such as solar lanterns and home solar panels, as well as mini-grid installers, will be offered low-interest credit by an assortment of government-backed and privately-financed entities.

Norwegian consultancy DNV today published the latest of its annual surveys of the state of the energy transition and lamented the fact so very little has been achieved during the last five years. We are forging ahead into a world that will be 2.3C hotter this century, predicts the report.

The latest global PV industry outlook published by trade group SolarPower Europe, has indicated tight supply of the solar panel raw material is expected to persist this year but the trade body said it would be unlikely to drive further price rises.

The new rules will increase the PV net metering factor from 0.65 to 100 and the credit accumulation period from three to six months.

Anti-dumping tariffs would jeopardize 18 GW of solar projects by 2023, the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said in a letter to the Commerce Department.

The Haryana-based renewables company, which is part of a bike and motorbike manufacturing conglomerate, will be paid $0.1025/kWh by the Bangladeshi government for the electricity that will be generated by a 50 MW plant in Khulna district, with the power purchase deal running for 20 years.

The manufacturer has raised the cost of all its products. Elsewhere, Xinyi is planning to deploy 5 GW of solar in Heilongjiang province and the China Electricity Council has reported the nation added 22 GW of solar in the first eight months of the year.

The €7.4 million scheme is being financed through the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2014-2021. Rebates will cover up to 85% of the costs for buying and installing a PV system.

Multiple factors can affect the lifespan of a residential battery energy storage system. We examine the life of batteries in Part 3 of our series.

Rio Tinto has confirmed that Energy Developments Ltd. is set to start construction of a new PV array and battery storage system that will more than triple the generation capacity at the miner’s AUD 2.6 billion ($1.9 billion) bauxite mining operation at Weipa, in the Australian state of Queensland.

Vattenfall is leading a Dutch consortium in a research project to assess whether agrivoltaics is also compatible with strip cropping. The company’s head of Solar Development NL, Annemarie Schouten, spoke with pv magazine about the first 0.7 MW pilot project under development in the northern Dutch province of Flevoland.

In the procurement exercise, the Russian energy regulator allocated 775 MW of PV capacity, 1,851 MW of wind power, and 96 MW of hydropower capacity. The auction concluded with an average price of RUB 5.18 ($0.070)/kWh.

Exxaro Resources wants to generate clean electricity for its Grootegeluk site in Limpopo province and has opened a tender for the EPC and operations contract.

The Dutch start-up behind the world’s first commercial grid-independent solar car has generated significant investment this year. Deliveries of the prototype Lightyear One are now set for next summer.

NREL researchers said a profitable and sustainable solar panel recycling industry could establish itself by 2032. Here’s how the numbers work.

Developed by Dutch company UseAllEnergy, the module is fabricated with a heat exchanger placed on the rear side that works as a heat source for a brine-water heat pump. Thanks to this innovation, the heat pump does not need to get heat from a borehole yet can still generate sufficient thermal energy. The solution is claimed to be easy to install and also to be suitable for retrofits.

A Russian-Italian research group has developed resonant silicon nanoparticles that are claimed to improve the performance of perovskite solar cells. These particles serve as nanoantennae – they catch light and it resonates inside them, which amplifies the cell’s light absorption.

French specialist Sun’Agri installed a pilot facility on five hectares in southern France in 2018. Its goal is to protect the vines from weather hazards and to improve the quality of the wine by lowering its alcohol content. The first harvest took place in mid-September.

Adani Solar, Jakson, Premier Energies, Vikram Solar, Waaree and other Indian manufacturers are showcasing their high-output modules ranging from 500 W to over 600 W at this year’s Renewable Energy India Expo 2021.

A Canadian consortium led by the Sherbrooke University has developed a CPV panel with improved light absorption through a microstructured anti-reflecting coating consisting of a monolayer of silica beads, which they claim can improve the device’s short-circuit current by up to 3.7%. The module is based on III-V solar cells.

China Green Development Group is building a giant project consisting of 3 GW of photovoltaics and 300 MW of concentrating solar power. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2025 and is part of China’s 14th five-year plan.

The Chinese inverter company said the dam-hosted 58.5 MW project in northeastern Thailand was connected to the grid this month.

The module is claimed to be one of the top five most performant heterojunction solar modules, in terms of power density, with the champion panel achieving 214.15 W/m² and the average device 209.5 W/m². The panel showed an efficiency ranging from 20.95% to 21.41%.

Singaporean scientists have developed a special device that prevents the formation of dendrites in lithium-ion storage. The additional layer they created works as an interface on behalf of the negative electrode, to exchange lithium-ions with the positive electrode.

A 1.2 MW solar plant and ‘up to 2 MWh’ energy storage system will replace generators to power the city broadband network in Freetown from mid next year.

Renewables developer Edify Energy has been granted development approval to build and operate a green hydrogen production plant of up to 1 GW, as well as a behind-the-meter solar and battery storage facility within the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct in Townsville, northern Queensland.

The renewables-powered sustainable hydrogen announcements have come as a group of international researchers made controversial claims about the potential of gas-fired blue hydrogen to be part of the climate change solution.

Operated by Gasunie, the underground storage facility is located near Veendam in the province of Groningen and should be fully operational in 2026. Tests will be run until spring 2022.