Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

The three Chinese panel manufacturers found an agreement on the module size and the mounting hole spacing.

Maxwatt Solar has built a PV system that is purportedly India’s largest residential on-grid residential solar installation, with 540 Wp modules. It uses 68 of JA Solar 540 Wp half-cell mono PERC modules and a 27 kW Fronius inverter.

Scientists in China found that a change to the hole transport layer material helped to reduce voltage loss in a perovskite solar cell. The discovery demonstrates a promising new pathway to overcoming a major challenge for perovskites – particularly those used as the top layer in a tandem device.

A booming overseas market has offset falls in demand in China caused by rising solar module prices, according to Flat Glass. In common with its PV glassmaking rivals, the company is pressing ahead with production expansion, betting reduced prices for its products will feed even greater demand.

The mounting structure relies on a 5.8m long support rail that does not lie on the roof but is connected directly to a purlin placed below with self-drilling support screws.

The airplane is powered by 22 square meters of solar cells with an efficiency of up to 24% and 14 kWh of lithium-ion batteries. According to its creators, it can reach an altitude of 25,000m.

The Al Husainiyah solar plant, 200km south of Jordanian capital Amman, began commercial operations a week ago with more than 200,000 panels manufactured by 30% joint owner Philadelphia Solar.

Researchers in China have analyzed how the marine environment influences the performance of PV modules deployed on ships, and have found that salt particles can be detrimental to their performance as these act as both heating agents and a factor reducing solar irradiance. The temporary cooling effect provided by seawater is not sufficient to offset the impacts of salt spray and ensure increased power yields.

India’s solar capacity growth up to 2030 also means the accumulation of a significant amount of PV module waste due to early failures or damage during transportation, installation, and operation. The waste generation could be 21 kilotons, assuming India’s cumulative installed PV capacity grows to 287.4 GW by 2030, from 40 GW in 2020. This doesn’t include end-of-life panel waste, as PV systems installed in the 2020-30 period are assumed to have at least 30 years of lifetime.

Coal India Ltd. is accepting proposals from parties willing to partner on its proposed 4 GW solar PV ingot-wafer-cell-module manufacturing facility. Applications will be accepted until Sept. 16.