Highlights

Product piracy is a well-known threat in many industries, and in solar the risk posed by poor quality products from disreputable manufacturers making their way onto rooftops and other PV installations should not be underestimated. With manufacturers investing in solutions to protect against inferior products bearing their logo, pv magazine looks at the size of the problem.

The state cabinet has approved a 74:26 joint venture proposal by publicly-owned hydropower company THDC India and the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency for the ambitious project.

The Chinese government is planning to phase out FITs and subsidies for all kinds of PV installation by the end of this year, according to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association. The trade body, however, expects strong recovery for domestic solar demand over the next five years, beginning in the second half of 2020.

With power ranging from 2-6 kW in the seven-device series, the Sun2000-2-6KTL-L1 string inverters offer efficiencies of 98.2-98.4%. The 12kg products measure 365x365x156mm and feature two maximum power point tracking channels.

SolarPower Europe has predicted the volume of new PV capacity added this year will be 4% less than last year’s figure because of the Covid-19 crisis. At the end of 2019, the world had topped 630 GW of solar. For 2020, around 112 GW of new PV capacity is expected, and in 2021, newly installed capacity could be 149.9 GW if governments support renewables in their coronavirus economic recovery plans.

Chinese developer Panda Green says it has negotiated exclusive rights to develop a $1.41 billion project in Xinjiang which will feature PV and photothermal generation, hydrogen production and energy storage.

According to the Chinese power electronics manufacturer, the series features a maximum input voltage of 1,100 V per string and efficiencies ranging from 98.6% to 99.0%.

PV manufacturers unable to live with proposed new quality guidelines and project developers alike are set to be squeezed out by the state in the world’s biggest solar market, according to Frank Haugwitz, who has compiled a market update as preparations for the next five-year plan gather pace.

From the acquisition of IP to commercialization, the PV industry has witnessed a rapid rise of gallium-doped silicon. Researchers are testing the resulting cells’ stability while industry has begun the manufacturing phase. All this leads to a key question: Will gallium doped silicon solar modules will be the next big thing?

The COVID-19 pandemic featured prominently at this week’s inaugural pv magazine Virtual Roundtables Europe, which took place this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Not only did the pandemic lead to the virtualization of pv magazine’s established June Roundtables, but it was a big topic in the final session on Wednesday dealing with markets and specifically the further development of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in Europe.