The South Korean manufacturer has brought, to Europe and Australia, its recently launched shingled PERC panel, with an output ranging from 470 to 480 W and an efficiency of up to 20.5%. The products come with a 25-year linear power output guarantee and a 25-year product guarantee.

Increasing prices may prompt module manufacturers to find alternatives, or at least reduce silver use in solar cell metallization, according to a recent study. Researcher Samuele Lo Piano, however, told pv magazine silver availability does not represent an issue for large scale PV. Copper-nickel alloys may offer an alternative, he added, but there could be a long wait for them to be viable.

Chinese solar module manufacturer Trina Solar has listed eight solar tracking system manufacturers that have made their products compatible with solar panels based on 210mm silicon wafers. Two weeks earlier, the company had unveiled all inverter makers that already provide compatible devices.

The manufacturer accounted for around 40% of total solar module demand in Taiwan in 2020. It expects to see its domestic market share increase to 50% this year.

A research group in the United States is proposing to add social variables in GIS-MCDA algorithms for PV project planning as a solution to avoid opposition to large scale solar from local communities. Although some efforts have already been made in this direction, there is still much to be done to understand the degree to which measuring these variables proactively could help mitigate public opposition down the line, on individual projects.

French floating PV specialist Ciel&Terre said the plant is being split into smaller islands, with a square shape, to avoid stress concentration.

Researchers in the Netherlands have sought to identify all those semiconductor materials that may make the application of carrier multiplication in photovoltaics much more than a mere suggestion. According to them, the bandgap of the materials should be between 0.6–1.0 electronvolt (eV), which would result in maximum theoretical efficiency of around 44%. 2D and bulk materials were indicated as the most promising with near-ideal carrier multiplication.

The procurement exercise will be the country’s second attempt to support large-scale solar and wind. The first 88 MW auction launched last year saw the allocation of just 25.5 MW. Solar secured 13.4 MW at an average price of $0.093/kWh. Selected PV projects range in size from 50 to 500 kW.

U.K. scientists have used mesoporous scaffolds based on hydroxyapatite nanoparticles – blended with titanium oxide nanoparticles – to create a mechanism that prevents lead leakage in perovskite solar cells. They claim the method captures lead ions in leaks, while also increasing cell efficiency.

The novel methodology can be used for 71 countries located across ‘sun belt’ areas of east Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. The model relies on 2014 and 2015 geo-referenced datasets in various formats and spatial resolutions, as well as on a population dataset based on global human settlements (GHSL) and World Bank national-level estimates of electrification.