Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Australian PV manufacturer Tindo Solar is expected to be among the first applicants for a grant from the federal government’s AUD 1 billion ($648.7 million) Solar Sunshot program, as it looks to scale up its production capacity to compete in a growing domestic market dominated by imports.

Researchers in China claim to have achieved the highest efficiency ever reported for perovskite solar cells based on “alternative” hole transport materials. The device reportedly offers improved hole extraction and significantly reduced charge recombination at the interface between the perovskite layer and the hole transport layer.

Mercom says in a new report that India installed 20.8 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity and 3.2 GW of new PV cell production lines in 2023. The nation’s cumulative solar module manufacturing capacity stood at 64.5 GW on Dec. 31, 2023, while its solar cell capacity reached 5.8 GW, according to the research firm.

Feedback from stakeholders involved in Germany’s end-of-life PV modules treatment chain found more needs to be done around the transparency of PV module waste volume, the take-back and collection process and module recycling, as the country prepares for significantly larger volumes by the end of the decade.

Researchers in China have designed an organic solar cell the uses an acceptor based on selenium as an alternative to commonly utilized non-fullerene acceptors. The new acceptor enabled the cell to have reduced non-radiative recombination loss and improved dielectric constant.

The Italian PV manufacturer said its FU570-580M Silk Nova panel features half-cut and multi-busbar technology. The new product has a temperature coefficient of -0.29/C and a power output ranging from 570 W to 580 W.

Researchers in Indonesia have investigated how shading effects may influence the performance ratio of a PV system. Their analysis also considered payback period and return on investment.

JinkoSolar has broken ground on a 56 GW PV panel factory in China’s Shanxi province. It says the new facility will be vertically integrated and will be constructed in four 14 GW phases.

Luminous has opened a new solar panel factory in India. The fully automated plant has a current production capacity of 250 MW, expandable up to 1 GW of nameplate capacity.

A recent report from the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America Coalition (SEMA) shows that with stronger support in the early stages, US module manufacturers would rely less on imports from Chinese-owned companies for materials.