Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

According to a newspaper report, due to greatly reduced demand for thin film silicon modules, U.S. photovoltaics (PV) company Applied Materials is going to concentrate on silicon solar cells in the future.

First Solar has issued a statement relating to the use of cadmium telluride (CdTe) in photovoltaics (PV) modules following the Wuppertal Institute’s call for PV to be placed under the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive.

Following the news that the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy has called on the European Union (EU) to include photovoltaics (PV) under the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS), Professor Martin A. Green has told pv magazine he would like to see a fixed date for RoHS compliance.

Using carbon nanotubes – hollow tubes of carbon atoms – Massachusetts Institute of Technology chemical engineers say they have found a way to concentrate solar energy 100 times more than a regular photovoltaic (PV) cell. Such nanotubes could reportedly form antennas that capture and focus light energy, potentially allowing much smaller and more powerful solar arrays, according to Chinese news agency, xinhuanet.

Thin film solar module producer, Trony Solar Holdings Company Limited has signed separate agreements with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to co-develop solar battery technology. The news comes as the company inaugurated its Hong Kong office in the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks.

In what has been described as a “watershed breakthrough” for the photovoltaics (PV) industry, U.S.-based SoloPower has said its flexible copper indium gallium (di) selenide (CIGS) modules are the first of their kind to receive Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification.

Swiss company, Oerlikon Solar, has launched a new production line ‘ThinFab’ for the manufacturing of thin film silicon modules at the EU PVSEC, which is says will achieve “record breaking” production costs of €0.50 per Watt peak (Wp).

Kyocera is putting a new solar module with 60 cells and 240 watts of output on the market. The KD240GH-2PB module is said to be particularly suitable for ground-mounted solar installations and industrial on-roof arrays, though it can also be used in conventional house roof installations.

Alfasolar presents measurements by the PI Photovoltaik Institute that testify the quality of their Pyramid series modules.

Centrosolar is presenting a new solar module with 54 cells and up to 225 watts of output at this year’s EU PVSEC trade show. These modules have four more cells than their predecessors in the S-Class Excellent series and are wider and shorter, with six by nine cells instead of the earlier five by ten.