Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

A drone pilot has discovered that Tesla is starting to install solar panels, racking and inverters on the rooftop of a manufacturing facility it is building in Texas.

Sunman Energy claims the new factory, located in Yangzhong City in China’s Jiangsu province, is the world’s largest production facility for lightweight photovoltaics.

A solar panel on display at a science museum in the Netherlands is one of 2,748 modules that were used for the country’s oldest PV system. The module has an efficiency of around 9% and a power output of 18W. It was manufactured by Germany-based AEG-Telefunken in 1982.

The device achieved the highest efficiency and fill factor ever reported for an all-polymer solar cell based on polymerized small molecular acceptors. The cell was built with a top donor material known as PBDB-T and an electron acceptor made of the polymer PYT.

The cell may be potentially used as a top subcell in tandem crystalline silicon-based devices. It was built with CdSe thin film with a direct bandgap of 1.72 eV.

Wood Mackenzie has predicted solar equipment cost increases will ease back after last year saw the average cost of solar electricity rise for the first time in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has announced AUD 40 million ($28.7 million) of research and development funding across two streams. Stream 1 consists of cells and modules, while Stream 2 is focused on balance of system, along with operations and maintenance. It is hoped the additional funding will spur Australia’s pioneering solar research to push for the federal government’s “ultra low-cost solar” target of AUD 15/MWh.

Developed by scientists in China, the cell achieved an open-circuit voltage of 1.192V, and a fill factor of 80.67%. Its perovskite capping layer was treated with a special ionic liquid that had a positive influence on both the device’s efficiency and stability.

Solar manufacturer JinkoSolar announced on Wednesday that its 8 GW TOPCon cell factory in the Anhui Province has started manufacturing activities. Polysilicon supplier and solar cell maker Tongwei announced on Thursday it expects to achieve a net profit of up to RMB 8.5 billion ($1.33 billion) with a YoY increase of around 136%.

Recent research from Thailand has shown that solar-plus-storage on floating platforms could be the cheapest option to power energy-intensive aeration systems in aquaculture projects. The battery accounts for around 54% of the capital costs, which is why system sizing would be key for economic viability.