Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Reclaim PV is now one step closer to ensuring that solar generation lives up to the promise of providing clean energy throughout its life cycle, and that repurposing its component materials becomes viable.

State-owned power company SPIC is all set to contribute to the figures after announcing it wants to add 15 GW of renewables capacity during 2021 and China Glass, fresh from rebuffing Xinyi Glass’ takeover offer, is on the hunt for more manufacturing facilities.

South Korean researchers claim to have developed a PV cell with a higher efficiency rate than any other tandem cell based on perovskite and organic materials.

The German manufacturer will offer the solar module for rooftop PV applications from the third quarter of 2021. Aleo Solar will install a new production line at its factory for the new product.

Wafer manufacturer Nexwafe is currently trying to commercialize its highly efficient monocrystalline wafer technology.

A German research team has created a new solar cell architecture with self-assembled, three-dimensional nanocomposite thin film. The special cell configuration purportedly improves electrical output by a factor of five.

In a recent media brief, new Enel Green Power CEO Salvatore Bernabei discussed the company’s operating results for 2020 and its future strategies across several markets. pv magazine asked him questions about new solar plans, recent auction prices and the PV module factory the Italian group operates in Catania, in southern Italy. Bernabei also made it clear that he wants to bet on green and not blue or grey hydrogen for the company’s next step into the energy transition.

Wuxi Autowell has begun construction on its 50 GW wafer factory in Guangdong province and Longi and Wuxi Shangji Automation have announced new supply deals. GCL-Poly has announced it will raise the production capacity of its factory in Jiangsu from 6,000 to 10,000 metric tons – despite the company suffering a cross-default at the weekend.

An international research team has developed a cleaning system for solar panels that combines a vibrating device with the use of hydrophilic curved rungs. The technique is claimed to be able to remove the surface contaminants through the internal flow of vibrating water droplets applied with a pipette onto the module surface and transported, under vibration, to the contaminated parts.

The Japanese brand will continue to sell third-party-made modules under its brand in its home market, as it already does overseas, but in-house PV wafer, cell and module production will halt by the end of fiscal year 2022.