The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States has brought hope the country will play a central role in the world’s energy transition and combating climate change. However, rather than teaching other countries lessons, the U.S. will need to catch up with the rest of the world, and it needs to do so quickly – the world won’t wait for the U.S.

Alongside all of the problems, 2020 has brought us a few promising solar module manufacturer initiatives and developments. Martin Schachinger of pvXchange.com looks back over the second half of the year and offers a quick look at what could be in store for 2021.

In September 2020, Stantec Turkey launched a market assessment report for the Turkish solar PV panel manufacturing sector. The English version of the “Market Report for Turkey’s Photovoltaic Panel Manufacturing” followed in November. The report, based on collected data from local manufacturers, depicts the history of the market since its inception in 2011 and provides unique insights into its development and future potential.

With the wholesale transformation of the power industry from the inside out and other energy transition mega-trends, capital will continue to flow into renewables from ESG, energy funds, and retail, writes ROTH Capital Analyst Jesse Pichel. Look for a greater mix of unsubsidized economic solar projects to support improving revenue visibility, increasing earnings quality, and multiple expansions.

The world is still combating Covid-19, with Europe now impacted by a second wave of the virus. While the market reported delays for a few projects, the impacts on the PV sector remain unclear. But if the world fails to curb the Covid-19’s spread, governments may be forced to reintroduce strict measures, thereby sapping PV demand. PV InfoLink’s Mars Chang expects module demand to hit 126 GW by the end of this year.

Falling module prices will help PV post another record year after an estimated 132 GW was installed worldwide in 2020, according to an energy transition investment trends report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The private-sector arm of the World Bank, which claims to leverage $3 of its own capital and $8 from third parties for every dollar invested in its blended finance funds, has attempted to quantify what devoting Covid recovery funds to green investment would mean for emerging economies.

European renewables, including Spanish solar, made big gains as energy demand recovered before the second wave of Covid infections. Nuclear was a notable loser, in part because clean energy volumes in the north of the continent drove down power prices sufficiently to make reactors uncompetitive.

A report by McKinsey & Company reinforces the widely-held view renewables will supplant fossil fuels in the energy system but also joins the chorus of voices warning the world is on track to fall well short of limiting global temperature rises this century to 1.5C.

Polycrystalline PV technology, which is seeing its market share tumble on the global stage, still dominates India’s small solar manufacturing base and is emblematic of the R&D shortfalls in the sector, according to a survey of the state of the industry.

IHS Markit is predicting the world will add 30% more solar capacity this year.

Shunfeng International is already overdue on debts of $381 million and a deadline for investors holding GCL-Poly senior notes worth $500 million to agree to postpone payment is due to expire today as the company prepares to vote on a $309 million, 430 MW solar project sell-off.

Developers will build the 50 MW Sunnyside solar project on a former landfill site just outside of downtown Houston.

The deal includes the Rabbitbrush, Madison, Oak Trail, Horizon, and Ridgely projects, which are expected to start construction in the United States in the next two years, and the 30 MW Barilla Solar project, which is operational.

Total has decided not to renew its membership in the American Petroleum Institute, following a detailed analysis of its climate positions. The French energy giant said the group’s positions are at odds with its climate targets.

Solar-linked projects will be developed by domestic firm Augwind and will feature underground storage tanks. One of the systems will be built by French energy giant EDF and will feature a 20 MWh compressed air storage system and 5 MW solar array.

Scientists from Israel and France have proposed a PV-plus-thermal-storage (PV-TS) concept that may be applied in regions with low direct solar beam radiation and high levels of global solar radiation. They estimated that the grid penetration rate of a large scale PV plant, when combined with molten salt storage, may rise from around 30% to up to 95%.

GUVNL, an electric utility in the Indian state of Gujarat, is seeking project proposals through competitive bidding, followed by a reverse auction. Bidding closes on Feb. 23.

The company’s integrated tracker manufacturer Nclave developed a new system designed primarily for large-form factor modules and with a new algorithm that promises to boost yield in diffuse light conditions.

The Tunisian government hopes to build six solar plants in its latest procurement round, with capacities of 10 MW each, in addition to 10 smaller solar arrays, each up to 1 MW in size.

The interconnection tech, developed by scientists at the Belgian research institute Imec, is based on a three-dimensional fabric of encapsulant with incorporated horizontal and vertical solder‐coated metal ribbons. Mini solar modules built with the proposed technique have provided interesting results in tests for thermal cycling reliability, showing very limited degradation.

Two French companies have collaborated on the development of the Osmo-Watt system, which is powered by solar panels. They claim that the technology can produce up to 100 cubic meters of drinking water per day.

Developed by scientists from German research institute Fraunhofer ISE, the silicon-carbide device claims 98.4% efficiency and could be used in utility-scale photovoltaic projects.

Scientists in Poland have measured the effect of solar radiation spectra in variable weather conditions on the performance of different kinds of PV module technologies. They found that amorphous silicon panels offer the best response to this effect in stationary or BIPV projects on facades, while crystalline silicon and CIS solar panels represent the best options in projects with trackers.

Gowing Bros has become the first major customer of the LAVO 40 kWh battery in Australia. The system, which features an electrolyzer and domestic fuel-cell tech, will be market-ready in June.

Furthermore, Risen predicts its solar module shipments will reach 15 GW this year and Sze Tan Hung has increased her stake in solar cell and panel maker Solargiga.

Researchers in the Middle East have proposed a new passive technology to cool off solar modules, based on highly conductive porous materials.

In many respects, the past year has been unlike any other. But the innovation and ambition driving the expansion of the solar and energy storage industries is one constant that has remained, Across seven categories, pv magazine’s award winners for 2020 demonstrate high levels of technical expertise, creativity, mass production capabilities, and real market impact from PV and power electronics companies big and small. Following on from the virtual award ceremony held this morning, the winners are….

Tennessee-based Shoals Technologies has balance-of-systems solutions deployed on more than 20 GW of solar energy systems throughout the world.

Longi and Risen both announced plans to build up new module and cell manufacturing capacity. Furthermore, the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has revealed it deployed more than 10 GW of solar power last year.

European scientists are designing a new type of redox flow storage system aimed at flexibly balancing power grids in the event of critical conditions. Funded by the EU, the research project is being coordinated by the Landshut University of Applied Sciences and runs until 2023.

The Western Australian government has called for expressions of interest for its proposed 1.5 GW solar-wind-hydrogen hub at the Okajee Strategic Industrial Area. This week, it said that 65 companies from around the world are interested.

The news comes on the day a private equity investor in the English North East announced plans to jointly develop a 1.4 GWp solar portfolio with Canadian Solar.

Standalone solar-powered refrigerators present a $20 billion opportunity in India for vaccine storage, milk chillers, households, micro enterprises, and cold storage for farm produce, according to a new report by Gogla.

Australian researchers have analyzed different ways to improve the efficiency of PV-powered water electrolysis for hydrogen generation. They include the use of magnetic fields, light energy, ultrasonic fields, and pulsating electric fields. Energy costs remain prohibitive, but molecular movement and the redistribution of molecules in water during electrolysis could open a path to viability.