Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Scientists in China have designed a kesterite-kesterite solar cell with an optimized structure that may potentially achieve efficiencies nearing those of crystalline silicon PV devices. They improved the performance of the two subcells by adjusting band alignment at interfaces, selecting proper buffer layers, and adding a double layer to both devices.

Hail losses in the United States exceeded $1 billion in 2021.

Nextracker has specifically designed solar tracker solutions for the challenges of the Indian landscape, by addressing issues such as undulating terrain and fluctuating irradiance conditions at utility-scale sites, Vice President and Managing Director Rajeev Kashyap tells pv magazine.

As solar module prices continue to drop to record lows, amid global oversupply, questions are being asked about how much inventory is sitting in European warehouses and when normal levels will return. With numerous estimates and assumptions swirling, EUPD Research’s Markus A.W. Hoehner and Ali Arfa have looked closely at the numbers in an attempt to provide a transparent view of the issue.

Voltec and the Institut Photovoltaïque d’Île-de-France (IPVF) plan to set up a pilot line for their new tandem panel tech in 2023 and their first 200 MW industrial demonstrator in 2025. They also plan to increase the factory’s capacity to 1 GW in 2027 and 5 GW by 2030.

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) and Heckert Solar have developed a rooftop solar panel in Germany. The 400 W module, featuring M12 half cells, boasts an efficiency of 20.5%. The collaborative effort led to the establishment of a brand-new production line dedicated to this module series.

European solar lobby groups have mostly welcomed the European Parliament’s recently supported EU Net-Zero Industry Act, which is aimed at strengthening the region’s renewables manufacturing sector. However, two groups are divided over a clause in the Act that limits tendered project’s from using technology partially made outside Europe.

A Swiss company has developed adhesive film that can be applied on solar panels to make them more aesthetically appealing. The film reduces electricity production by between 10% and 30%, but income from advertising could offset such losses.

A group of scientists in the United States has utilized a new passivation strategy based on sulfur-modified methylthio molecules to build an inverted perovskite solar cell with a certified efficiency of 25.1% and remarkable stability. The proposed passivation approach reportedly led to a five-fold increase in carrier lifetime and a three-fold reduction in photoluminescence quantum yield losses.

Inion Software, a Lithuanian PV power plant equipment specialist, has unveiled a platform that combines model-based performance forecasting with plant monitoring functionality. It offers insights based not only on production data, but also weather data, along with site parameters and PV capacity information.