Chinese PV Industry Brief: 6 GW wind-solar-storage project in Inner Mongolia and a 5 GW cell factory in Fujian
A huge renewable energy complex is planned to include 5 GW of PV capacity. Furthermore, the State Power Investment Corporation has announced a plan to set up a 5 GW heterojunction solar cell factory in Fujian province.
Colored facade solar panels with 13.8% efficiency
Dutch startup Solarix has developed a new line of facade solar panels featuring 13.8% efficiency and output ranging from 110 to 180 W, depending on the module size and color. The panels can be bolted or glued onto aluminum mounting systems applied to facades.
Extreme weather causing US solar insurance premiums to explode
Catastrophic weather events in Texas and California have led to steep increases in insurance premium costs, according to a new analysis by Norton Rose Fulbright.
Solar module passive cooling with lapping fins
Malaysian researchers have proposed a new passive technology for solar module cooling based on fin heat sinks. The tech ensures lower PV system payback times and reduces operating module temperatures by up to 26 C.
Focus on stability as tandem cells approach 30% efficiency
The Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin set a world record for perovskite-silicon tandem cell efficiency last year at 29.15%. The group has delved further into the cell materials, looking to better understand mechanisms behind the impressive efficiencies achieved so far. Their latest work shows that with the current cell design, long term stability at efficiencies up to 32.4% should be possible.
First Solar’s PV module tech completes 25 years of testing at NREL
“Determining how many years a solar panel will last can take, well, years.”
The weekend read: Big, and then bigger
Throughout this year, a fast-moving story has played out in PV module technology, with the introduction of larger wafers and subsequently larger module formats seeing the industry break into two camps, backing either 182 mm or 210 mm wafers. It remains to be seen whether one or the other will become a new industry standard, and both sizes will likely be plentiful on the market for the next few years at least. pv magazine takes a look at how we got to this point.
Maxeon brings its AC module with power of up to 415 W to Europe
Authorized Sunpower distributors and installers in Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, and the Netherlands are now offering the Maxeon 5 AC module for rooftop projects. An Enphase microinverter is already integrated into the product.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Another 50 GW solar module factory in sight
Meanwhile, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) has confirmed that newly installed PV capacity for this year should be around 40 GW.
Global research team sets up database for emerging PV tech
An international research team has set up a new database with crucial data on emerging technologies for perovskite, organic, and dye-sensitized solar cells. The platform also includes information on the best flexible solar cells.
