Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Researchers in Egypt have tested a new solar module cleaning technique for solar arrays in arid regions. They claim that the combination of nano-coatings with vibration mechanisms on the backs of modules can reduce manual cleaning requirements.

Solarpower Europe has called on member states to put solar and battery storage front and center when it comes to drawing up the Recovery and Resilience plans needed to secure a slice of the bloc’s proposed €672.5 billion post-Covid stimulus package.

The in-country analyst has revised up its expectation for this year and says a healthy unsubsidized project pipeline will keep the numbers ticking over in 2021. The spending plans necessary to ramp up renewables targets in the next five-year plan, though, could put the nation on a collision course with the EU.

South Korean scientists have built a kesterite solar cell based on a zinc tin oxide (ZTO) buffer layer. It offers almost the same efficiency as kesterite cells based on toxic cadmium sulfide buffer layers, as the energy of the electrons between the kesterite absorber layer and ZTO buffer layer are aligned.

Oxford PV is currently building a manufacturing facility for its silicon perovskite tandem solar cells in Brandenburg an der Havel.

The ninth edition of the Vendée Globe began on Nov. 8 from the French port of Sables-d’Olonne, for a complete world tour without stopovers or assistance. PV panel maker Solbian equipped several competitors with its flexible products.

Scientists in the United States have tested soda-lime glass radiative coolers in a CPV system and claim these can reduce the device operating temperature by 5 to 36 degrees Celsius. This may result in an increase in the solar cell’s open-circuit voltage of between 8% and 27%.

The new module series is available in five versions with power output ranging from 315 to 330 W and efficiencies of 18.67% to 19.56%. It incorporates Enphase IQ 7+ microinverters with a 96.5% European efficiency and 295 volt-amperes (VA).

A US research team claims to have demonstrated that packing PV modules in close proximity can exponentially increase convective heat transfer of a solar park. The scientists analyzed three different module arrangements and compared them to the common row-organized panel configuration.

Scientists in Saudi Arabia demonstrated a slot-die coating process for production of perovskite solar cells from a specially engineered ‘ink’. Using the process, the group fabricated a perovskite/silicon tandem cell that recorded 23.8% efficiency.