N-type market growth
Several manufacturers recently brought average mono PERC cell efficiency to 22.5%, and efficiencies will likely go beyond 22.6% in the second half of this year. This suggests that p-PERC cell efficiency could be brought closer to that of n-type, making it more difficult for n-type cells to compete in the increasingly challenging market. Taking costs and market conditions into account, most manufacturers have slowed their capacity expansion plans, leading to a gap between actual output and production capacity. PV InfoLink’s Wells Wang sheds some light on n-type trends in 2020.
Hanwha Q-Cells moves to enforce court ruling related to patent infringement
The Korean manufacturer today announced it wants to enforce a ruling made in the regional court of Düsseldorf in June which prohibited rival Jinko Solar from making, selling, importing and distributing products which the court ruled had infringed one of Hanwha’s passivation patents.
Indian company tenders globally for supply of 350 MW of modules
State-run hydropower company NHDC is targeting 340-350 MW of generation capacity in a 1.5 GW tender being held in the state of Madhya Pradesh and needs panels to meet any award it secures.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Qinghai switches on 2.2 GW, Yingli starts building 5 GW factory
Huanghe Hydropower Development has commissioned 2.2 GW of PV capacity in China’s remote Qinghai province. Yingli, meanwhile, has started to build a new 5 GW solar module factory in Hebei province.
Swift Solar to push perovskite market forward
Born from an Oxford research group, the startup is looking to make its name by developing all-perovskite tandems – something no other company has done.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Inner Mongolia set for 5 GW solar-storage-hydrogen complex
The China Energy Investment Corp is planning to invest RMB22 billion in a facility in the autonomous region. The state-owned mining and energy company has signed a framework agreement with the government of the city of Yijin Holo Banner for the project.
German PV equipment providers still affected by Covid-19 crisis
Orders fell more than 70% in the second quarter but China’s economic recovery is providing the basis for cautious optimism.
Climate change to reduce solar radiation in hot, arid regions
A new Princeton University study shows that PV plants in hot, arid parts of the world, such as the Middle East and the U.S. Southwest, will be particularly affected by climate change.
Trump pulls tariff exemption for bifacial panels – again
The U.S. president issued a proclamation on Oct. 10 that cites the impact of imported bifacial panels on U.S. solar manufacturing, while also raising the scheduled fourth-year tariff rate from 15% to 18%.
Checkerboard solar cell design for improved light diffraction
A U.K.-Portuguese research group is proposing a new solar cell design based on diffraction gratings – optical components that split and diffract light into several beams. They claim this could lead to a 125% improvement in light trapping.
