Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Installers which took advantage of cheaply-priced government finance say customers affected by the Covid-19 crisis cannot afford to pay for the solar home systems they have rolled out while expanding renewables programs.

SunPower has had to make fundamental changes to continue to be relevant in a solar industry very different from that of its roots. The company aims to become an energy service provider and is leaving low-cost manufacturing to its Chinese partner.

China’s cumulative installed PV capacity topped 208 GW at the end of March, thanks to 3.95 GW of new projects completed in the first quarter. JinkoSolar and Longi both joined the 500 W-plus module race, with their new panels offering 580 W and 530 W of output, respectively. Ginlong, meanwhile, has revealed plans to raise funds to increase its annual inverter production capacity to 20 GW, and Xi’An Solar has claimed a 23.2% efficiency rate for its N-type TOPCon modules in mass production.

The panel is part of the company’s new Tiger Pro series, which includes two 530 W modules and a 430 W product for distributed-generation applications. It will begin production of the series in the fourth quarter, although it will start accepting first orders immediately.

U.S.-based Toledo Solar is trying to distinguish itself from First Solar’s cadmium telluride dominance by operating in the residential and commercial segments, which have long been unkind to the technology.

The Chinese state-owned solar manufacturer has filed a claim against its Korean competitor relating to REC’s split-cell and junction box technology.

German engineering association the VDMA expects a difficult year because of the Covid-19 crisis. Sales had already dropped considerably last year and the current order intake level offers no glimpse of hope. However, the public health crisis may offer business in new markets determined to break a dependence on Chinese panels.

In a recent conversation with pv magazine Roland Valckenborg, business developer and project manager at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), has described the results of a multi-year testing program for colored BIPV modules. Just a few years ago, it it was thought that power yield could be up to 50% lower than conventional panels, but tests have shown a difference of just 10%. Valckenborg says that losses can vary depending on the color of a panel.

The Norwegian solar manufacturer is considering a 2 GW heterojunction solar module factory in Sarreguemines, in the northeast of the country.

France’s National Institute for Solar Energy takes a look at the state of play in the European solar panel recycling industry.