Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), have used an antioxidant known as L-glutathione as an interlayer in an organic PV cell to prevent other materials from oxidizing. The cell has an efficiency of 13.5% and an average visible transmittance of 21.5%. The researchers said it is suitable for applications in solar greenhouses.

The European Union is working on a draft proposal, which pv magazine has seen, that would require 85% of the components used in European wind farms – along with 60% of heat pumps, 85% of batteries, and 85% of electrolyzers – to be manufactured on the continent.

Technique Solaire plans to analyze animal behavior in outdoor poultry farms covered with solar panels linked by nets. The setup could be potentially beneficial for the birds and the quality of their meat.

Scientists from Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE and US panel maker Solaria have applied thermal laser separation and post-metallization passivated edge technology to tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cell production. They have developed shingle PV devices that are more efficient than cells built with conventional laser scribing and mechanical cleaving methods.

From polysilicon to panels to recycling, how much domestic capacity does the United States actually have?

France’s Systovi is ramping up the annual capacity of its module factory in Carquefou, France. pv magazine France spoke to the company’s general director, Paul Toulouse, about European manufacturing and competition from Asia.

Haitai Solar says it wants to build a 3 GW panel factory in China’s Hebei province, while Jinchen has announced plans to expand its PV production equipment capacity in Jiangsu province.

Scientists in the Netherlands have proposed the extension of the IEC 61853 standard to bifacial solar modules, with some key corrections. In particular, they recommend changing the third and fourth parts of the standard.

Raptor Maps analyzed 24.5 GW of large-scale solar assets and determined that power losses due to equipment anomalies nearly doubled from 1.61% in 2019 to 3.13% in 2022. At the module level, cell and diode anomalies were the most common issues, it said.

Meyer Burger says it will shift all of its manufacturing operations away from plastic.