Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

India’s TrinanoTechnologies has developed a nanocoating for solar modules that reportedly increases power generation by up to 4% due to its light-trapping, anti-reflection and self-cleaning properties.

Swiss startup Insolight said that it has finished a new agrivoltaic pilot project in Lucerne, Switzerland. It said it will monitor the facility for three years to assess PV performance and its impact on agriculture.

Scientists in Germany have assessed the performance of balcony solar modules connected to an e-bike battery and found this combination provides a stable and continuous operation over three days. They tested two system architectures based on passive and active hybridization and said both system designs offer satisfying results.

Insolation Energy, an Indian solar module manufacturer, is setting up a 600 MW PV cell production facility. It is also expanding its panel production capacity from 700 MW to 1.2 GW.

Research carried out by China‘s National Photovoltaic Quality Inspection Center shows that new n-type TOPCon modules are living up to their promise, outperforming the previous generation of p-type PERC products. Data gathered over six months from a fixed-tilt PV system showed that the n-type products produced 3.69% more energy, and also suffered much lower performance losses.

Maxeon Solar Technologies says it has invested $70 million to upgrade its panel factory in Mexicali, Mexico, to 1.8 GW. The remaining capacity is provided by a 700 MW facility that the Singapore-based manufacturer operates in Ensenada.

Decarbon Venture has launched what it claims to be the world’s first “swappable” solar generator at half the weight and double the power rating of other products on the market.

Finnish scientists have tested a new eddy current-based soldering method for ribbon tabbing in solar cells and have found it considerably reduces the number of cracks and damages caused by thermal-mechanical stress in the process. They claim the new technique may already compete with conventional soldering methods in commercial production.

New research from Serbia claims air-polluted urban climatic conditions may not only induce maximum power point (MPP) tracking problems in PV systems but also reduce power yield by up to 30%. The scientists also said that soiling may significantly affect the functionality of single-stage inverters operating in grid-forming mode.

A new study proposes blockchain-based solar passports to address the PV waste management challenge in India. It says such a framework would enable transparent tracking and verification of PV panels throughout their life cycle.