2021

A diversified and talented workforce, proximity to customers, and strong partnerships on the ground prompted Meyer Burger to establish a PV production site in Goodyear, Arizona, the US.

2021 marked the second year of pv magazine’s UP Initiative where we shined a spotlight on sustainability in the solar industry. Over the course of 12 months, we focused on four key issues. First up was agrivoltaics – the combination of agriculture and solar energy – in recognition of this emerging market. The goal was to understand the potential benefits and economic, political, and technical challenges of such an innovative partnership. Read on to discover our coverage from this quarterly theme and watch out over the coming days for the topics of Workers’ rights, Sustainable electricity and corporates’ critical solar role, and Urban Solar.

Dec. 23 saw the inauguration of a new solar cell factory in the city of Khomeini, according to the Iranian government’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization. The factory, operated by Tehran headquartered company Mana Energy Pak, will be among the first in the region to produce silicon solar cells.

Structural imbalances in the supply chain and the energy intensity and consumption controls that China imposed in late September have caused prices for most PV module materials and components to continue to rise. Shipping fees and PV plant construction costs also remain high. PV plants in many regions will therefore be postponed until next year, but it remains unclear when module prices will start to fall. Despite these challenges, the global race to cut carbon emissions continues, and InfoLink’s Corrine Lin forecasts a bright future for PV deployments in 2022.

Solar stocks underperformed the broader markets in November, writes Jesse Pichel of ROTH Capital Partners. This is in large part thanks to uncertainty coming from the United States, where the Court of International Trade reinstated an exemption from import tariffs for bifacial modules – a decision that will likely see an appeal.

A Spanish consortium has started commissioning tests to produce renewable hydrogen in Mallorca, while another consortium led by Portuguese energy giants EPD and Galp is set to develop 100MW of green hydrogen production in Sines, Portugal. Lightsource bp and Dourogás have also agreed to set up a joint venture to invest in solar and green hydrogen infrastructure in Portugal.

The Chinese PV inverter maker has said that all its products are tested and certified in compliance with EU regulations by global leading testing and certification companies. As for the 8000TL3-S inverter series, which has now been banned from the Swedish market, the company said the device has not been in production since 2020.

The lithium-ion battery producer began manufacturing activities at its new factory in Ningde city, Fujian Province. Aiko Solar has also secured 4,515,000,000 wafers for the next three years through three different supply deals.

Developers will have time until April 30 to submit their bids. Selected projects will be awarded a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

Scientists at the Nankai University in China have provided a comprehensive overview of current research on silicon heterojunction-based tandem solar cells (SHJ-TSCs) and shared their expectations of future developments in this field.