Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Polaron formation in perovskite solar cells has been indicated in scientific research as a possible factor for making this kind of cell particularly efficient, although the mechanism behind polarons’ action is completely unknown. A U.S. research group has now observed how polaron distortions form and grow.

Trina Solar is spearheading an effort to standardize 210mm silicon wafers and modules, aiming to improve production efficiency, supply chain optimization and innovation.

Through the new factory, the company’s total module production capacity will be raised to 6.6 GW. The manufacturing facility will also have a cell capacity of 2 GW.

The Kazakh state-owned national atomic energy company is seeking to sell its solar manufacturing units for the second time.

Ankit Kapasi and Kishore Ganesan from SOFIES India are working on the Solar Waste Action Plan (SWAP) project in India, which is looking to investigate both the technical and economic feasibility of a PV module recycling system in the country. The pilot has been funded by Signify Foundation and Doen Foundation. The team at Sofies is working closely with technology partner Poseidon Solar and established the first PV recycling pilot plant in September 2020. The duo spoke to pv magazine India about their plant’s techno-commercial feasibility and the Indian eco-system’s readiness for PV module recycling.

Despite much of the world being on lockdown for a big chunk of 2020, there are few who could say it has been an uneventful year. And while the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic will be what defines 2020 for many, in the solar industry there’s plenty more to shout about, from the rapid rollout of high-powered modules to a drastic increase in carbon-neutral pledges from companies and governments around the world. Across five installments, pv magazine takes a look back at the year in solar. First up were the U.S. election and carbon neutral pledges, followed by auctions and green bonds, and big modules and renewable grid support. Next up are high-efficiency EU cell production and perovskites.

Despite much of the world being on lockdown for a big chunk of 2020, there are few who could say it has been an uneventful year. And while the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic will be what defines 2020 for many, in the solar industry there’s plenty more to shout about, from the rapid rollout of high-powered modules to a drastic increase in carbon-neutral pledges from companies and governments around the world. Across five installments, pv magazine takes a look back at the year in solar. First up were the U.S. election and carbon neutral pledges, followed by auctions and green bonds. For day three, you can read about big modules and renewable grid support.

Longi and Tongwei have both seen changes in ownership in recent days. Meanwhile, Maxwell Technology has unveiled a plan to build a heterojunction cell factory Jiangsu Province and the Henan Group has entered PV glass and module production.

Five scientific institutions in Germany are currently working together on self-learning production plants that use process data for the permanent optimization of manufacturing. The initiative is aimed at making the settlement of photovoltaic factories in Germany and Europe attractive again.

Scientists in Turkey have tested a transient thermal model to predict PV module temperature during a five-day interval in June. The model considers the heat capacity of a PV module, which is usually not provided by manufacturers in their product sheets, as a parameter for temperature prediction.