Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Scientists in Singapore have developed a cell that could be used to power vehicles and boats, among other applications. The tandem device purportedly retains 90% initial efficiency after 500 hours of maximum power point tracking under continuous one sun illumination.

Scientists in China analyzed defective solar cells based on Czochralski (Cz) silicon wafers and found Swirl defects may be responsible for an efficiency drop of up to 4.7%. According to them, the presence of Swirl defects could be mitigated by applying a heat treatment at a temperature above 1,050 degrees Celsius in a clean environment before the manufacturing of the solar cells.

With five public entities having committed RMB1.25 billion into a project to produce copper, indium, gallium, selenide solar modules five years ago, the joint venture has been abandoned at an estimated impairment cost of RMB1.42 billion.

The National Energy Administration (NEA) reported this week that the newly installed PV capacity for the Chinese market reached around 53 GW last year. Of this capacity, around 29 GW comes from distributed generation projects. The country’s cumulative installed power reached 306 GW at the end of December.

Developed by Chinese specialist SolarMaster, the panel is sold in four different versions with photovoltaic output ranging from 340 to 545 W and solar thermal output of 910 to 1,436 W.

Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments is accepting bids from Indian manufacturers to supply five-busbar monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon solar cells rated for a minimum of 4.62 W. Bidding closes on Jan. 27.

TOPCon solar cells are on their way to fully compete with PERC solar products, according to recent research from Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE. Efficiency gains for the TOPCon concept, however, are necessary to help it capture more market share, as production costs remain higher than those for PERC tech. A series of cost-driven strategies to make TOPCon modules advance were outlined in the study.

Philip Shen, managing director of ROTH Capital Partners, hosted top analysts from PV InfoLink to discuss their outlook on pricing, supply and demand at each step in the solar value chain.

Scientists at the Technische Universität Dresden, in Germany, have found that photon recycling and light scattering effects greatly improve light emission in perovskite solar cells, thereby boosting the upper limit for their efficiency to 31.3%.

The Sun Rock building is owned by Taiwan’s power utility Taipower. It was covered with 4,000 square meters of PV panels deployed by Dutch architectural firm MVRDV.