Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Researchers have measured the power loss of a 50 W panel stationed in a 30-meter wave tank. Based on ten different scenarios, they were able to draw an empirical equation for the prediction of power loss, with the highest loss being measured at 12.7%.

German fluid management company Lutz-Jesco introduced a system aimed at supporting pumping and water disinfection in cases of blackouts. The hub is preconfigured to work with solar panels, a battery charge controller, an inverter, and cabling.

Sharp’s new IEC61215- and IEC61730-certified solar panels have an operating temperature coefficient of -0.29% per C and a bifaciality factor of over 80%.

The novel solar cell uses tungsten sulfide as the back surface field layer. According to its creators, this layer can be included in conventional CIGS solar cells to improve their efficiency and reduce the absorber material’s cost.

The practical matter of taking a dead PV system apart and moving its components to their next destination has received less attention than recycling and second-life applications. In the United States, Decom Solar is offering decommissioning for commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects. pv magazine spoke to Decom Solar co-founder Stephen Burns for an update.

A research team from South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST) has designed a wire-free transparent solar cell and module with all electrical contacts placed on the rear side. A 16 cm² module achieved a power conversion efficiency of 14.7% and successfully charged a smartphone using natural sunlight.

Paxos Solar has developed a new glass-glass PV tile that integrates with heat pumps, featuring Longi’s back-contact solar cells. The 44 W, 59.5 cm x 48 cm tile can also produce heat for residential systems.

The novel method uses the YOLOv8 framework, integrating an attention mechanism and a transformer model. It was tested on a dataset of 4,500 electroluminescence images against several other models and its results were up to 17.2% more accurate.

Solevi, a German electroluminescence (EL) inspection company, has launched drone-based electrical inspection services for rooftop solar installation in Germany with plans to automate further and expand geographically.

Researchers in China have found that a special type of hygroscopic hydrogel made of the polyacrylamide polymer and lithium chloride may reduce PV module temperature by up to 7.5%. They have also developed a mathematical model to analyze the operational mechanisms and factors responsible for the cooling performance.