Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Researchers in South Korea have fabricated a cadmium-free heterojunction kesterite solar cell based on a zinc sulfide oxide Zn(O,S) buffer layer. They used a one-minute ammonium sulfide (NH4)2S treatment process for surface cleaning and passivation of the cell’s CZTSSe absorber.

The two brands announced a strategic project at the SNEC solar conference and trade show which will see the establishment of trading and big data centers to help roll-out PV in China.

The holders of $500 million worth of senior notes which were not settled in late January have accepted the polysilicon manufacturer’s plan to issue fresh three-year investments, after a meeting in Bermuda on Friday.

NASA scientists have partially cleaned up the solar modules of the Insight lander operating on Mars, by using grain sands collected nearby and trickling them on the panels during the windiest time of the day. This handmade technique has made it possible, according to them, to increase the PV array’s yield of about 30 watt-hours of energy per ‘sol,’ or Martian day.

Defect engineering for silicon heterojunction solar cells has come a long way. But Matthew Wright, a solar researcher at the University of New South Wales, asks whether these proven efficiency gains could be applied more effectively.

As PV manufacturing lines continue to get larger, keeping track of the measurement data that’s vital for quality and process control becomes an ever more herculean task. Flashing equipment supplier h.a.l.m. has developed a software solution that keeps all of this data in one place and provides operators with a real-time view of production line performance and quality. pv magazine caught up with Managing Director Michael Meixner to discuss the latest on big data in PV manufacturing.

The first day of the world’s biggest solar trade show and conference saw new PV products and strategic agreements unveiled by some of the biggest names in the industry. pv magazine China reporter Vincent Shaw and photographer Dave Tacon were on the ground to catch up with the companies and bring you the latest solar news from Shanghai, China.

Scientists at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory have simulated a III-V solar cell by stacking gallium arsenide films onto interdigitated back contact silicon solar cells with a glass interlayer. The scientists have already done some initial mini-module integration work, but significant size scaling will ultimately be needed to reach commercialization. The cell currently has an active area of 1 cm2.

The 144-cell module is available in six versions with power ratings ranging from 545 W to 570 W and efficiency between 21.3% and 22.3%. The product measures 2,256×1,133x35mm and weighs in at 32.3kg.

An international team of scientists fabricated perovskite solar cells which retained almost all of their initial 21% efficiency after 1,000 hours under continuous operation at their maximum power point. The researchers credit this performance to their discovery of an additive that served to ‘block’ ions that cause device degradation, and also hope their work will contribute to an improved understanding of the relationship between efficiency and stability in perovskite PV.