Chinese PV Industry Brief: Longi raises PV wafer prices, new entrant switches on 15 GW of wafer capacity
GokinSolar has commissioned the first 15 GW unit of its 50 GW PV wafer manufacturing facility in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province and Golden Solar New Energy Technology last week announced commercial production plans for the flexible, lightweight, cast-mono, heterojuntion (HJT) solar modules. Meanwhile, Longi has raised the prices of its wafers.
Israel shortlists 11 bidders in 300 MW solar-plus-storage tender
Construction of the solar-plus-storage facility is scheduled to take place in the Negev desert in late 2021, with completion expected in 2023.
Uzbekistan wants to tender another 900 MW of PV
The Uzbek Ministry of Energy plans to hold two more solar tenders for a series of PV plants spread across the Kashkadarya and Fergana, Bukhara, Khorezm, and Namangan regions. It also revealed that there are 1.29 GW worth of projects under construction in the country.
US customs enforcement is jeopardizing 2.1 GW of solar projects
Solar product detentions at U.S. ports of entry all stem from a June 24 “Withhold Release Order” issued by Customs and Border Protection.
Novel PV module recycling tech from South Korea
Developed by the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), the “non-destructive” technology is claimed to enable the recovery of 100% of a module’s glass and to allow the reuse of silicon for producing new solar cells with an efficiency of 20.05%.
The world’s hottest heat pump
A Norwegian consortium has built an industrial heat pump that can reach a temperature of up to 180 degrees Celsius. The machine can be used with different industrial processes that rely on steam as an energy carrier and can reduce a facility’s energy consumption by between 40% and 70%, as it enables the recovery of low-temperature waste heat.
Perovskite-silicon tandems could rapidly scale solar
Halide perovskites combined with conventional silicon could help solar break the 26% efficiency barrier – disrupting the technology without disrupting business systems.
Australian researchers develop bifacial solar cell with 96.3% bifacial factor
Australian National University researchers claim to have set a world record for bifacial solar cell efficiency that they say could boost the energy output of solar farms by 30%.
Blockchain for PV module recycling
Next Energy and Marubeni are developing a blockchain tech for PV module inspection – with the support of the Japanese government – which they claim is able to provide data on a panel’s traceability and components as well as verifying that the data were not modified or tampered with.
China made 14 GW of solar modules in June – and more than 80 GW in six months
The nation produced 57% more solar cells in the first half of this year than in the same period a year earlier, according to a financial update from state-controlled manufacturer Luoyang Glass.
