US residential solar prices falling amid surging interest in storage
The 18th edition of the EnergySage Marketplace Report indicates that the US residential solar segment faces persistent inflation, the California NEM 3.0, and rising loan fees, but prices have fallen and consumer interest in storage is strong.
New bifacial agrivoltaic solar panels from Greece
Brite Solar, a Greek specialty module manufacturer targeting the agrivoltaics greenhouse and PV canopy segments, is building a 150 MW production line. Marketing its modules to farming cooperatives, integrators and installers since the end of 2022, Brite solar has pilot installations in North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. In January it announced raising $9.26 million in venture capital.
Solar cell prices hold steady as market weighs feasibility of increasing prices
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.
Vikram Solar displays new 725 W bifacial heterojunction PV modules
Vikram Solar has developed new glass-glass bifacial PV modules based on n-type heterojunction (HJT) G12 half-cut solar cells. The modules are available in power ratings ranging from 700 W to 725 W, with efficiencies between 22.53% and 23.34%, respectively.
Future Solar to ramp up PV module capacity to 1.2 GW
India’s Future Solar is expanding its solar module manufacturing capacity to 1.2 GW, from 500 MW at present.
Inverted perovskite solar cell with antimony-doped tin oxides achieves 25.7% efficiency
Researchers in Singapore have built an inverted perovskite PV device with a p-type antimony-doped tin oxides (ATOx) interlayer that reportedly reduces the efficiency disparity between small and large-area perovskite cells. According to their findings, ATOx may easily replace commonly used nickel oxides (NiOx) as a hole transport material.
Fraunhofer ISE opens module lab in old Solar Fabrik factory
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) has opened a PV module production lab for new product ideas in a former Solar Fabrik factory in Germany. It is equipped with systems for cell interconnection, laminators, and a range of materials and solar cell technologies.
Adani Solar unveils 575 W TOPCon bifacial PV module with 22.4% efficiency
Adani Solar has unveiled an n-type TOPCon bifacial solar module featuring Indian-made cells this week at Intersolar India 2024. The module is available in power range from 550 W to 575 W, with an efficiency of 21.4% to 22.4%
Triple-junction perovskite–perovskite–silicon solar cell achieves record-breaking efficiency of 24.4%
Developed by scientists in Germany, the triple-junction cell is based on a perovskite top cell with an energy bandgap of 1.84 eV, a perovskite middle cell with bandgap of 1.52 eV, and a silicon bottom cell with a bandgap of 1.1 eV. The device achieved an open-circuit voltage of 2.84 V, a short-circuit current of 11.6 mA cm–2, and a fill factor of 74%.
Refurbishing heritage buildings with BIPV, heat pumps, energy efficiency
An energy makeover of a heritage-listed church built in 1965 included new solar PV roof, new insulation, new windows, and heat pumps, enabling it to produce 149% of its energy requirements. The achievement garnered the project team the Norman Foster Solar Award 2023.
