Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Perovskite PV devices are set to become the next big thing in solar with market analysts at S&P Global Commodity Insights predicting 1 GW of production by the end of 2024, rising to 6 GW in 2025. Perovskite tandem devices are at the front of the queue for commercialization but their characterization presents technical challenges.

Developer Loop Energia has built a 1.2 MW offgrid solar plant that now serves a center-pivot irrigation system in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The project reportedly enables local farmers to double soybean harvesting by achieving considerable savings through significantly lower diesel consumption.

Visionpark said its novel solar carport solution is self-weighted and requires no foundation. It can reportedly host all kinds of solar panels and be installed quickly.

The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) has voiced support for the inclusion of non-price criteria in auctions for solar modules, as laid out in the EU Net Zero Industry Act. The council’s recommendation paper also calls for member states to adopt the act as quickly as possible and highlights concern around cybersecurity and data security in relation to Chinese inverters.

Aiko Solar has won a patent litigation case against Maxeon Solar Technologies in a Dutch court. The judge has ruled that Aiko Solar did not infringe upon Maxeon Solar’s EP2297788B1 patent for back-contact (BC) solar cells.

Waaree Energies says it will supply 445 MW of its 540/545Wp dual-glass PV bifacial modules to Statkraft India’s single-location solar projects in Rajasthan, India.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

Scientists in China built for the first time a four-terminal tandem perovskite cell with a 17.88%-efficient top perovskite device and a 7.85%-efficient bottom antimony selenide bottom cell. The key features of the tandem cell are the transparent conducting electrode used to improve the spectral response of the top cell and the “double” electron transport layer of the antimony selenide cell.

The Japanese industrial technology supplier is shipping coating tools for perovskite solar panels with dimensions up to 1,000 mm × 2,000 mm. The company will also offer soon a support for 2,400 mm ×1,200 mm sizes.

Gamesa Electric has released a white paper on losses due to harmonics in PV plants, including an independent study that compares the performance of ultra-low total harmonic distortion inverters.