Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

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.

Two different studies published this week show new advances in the use of plasmonic enhancement to improve performance and stability of perovskite solar cells.

Scientists in China have analyzed the impact of residual stress in triple-junction solar cells used in aircraft and satellite applications. The group observed damages such as holes, fractures of grid lines, cracks at the cell level, and fractures of the PV materials.

With Swiss solar equipment company Meyer Burger laying plans for a module fab in North Rhine-Westphalia and Norwegian panel maker REC Group mulling a fab in Sarreguemines, northeastern France, Xavier Daval – from French renewables association the SER – says it is time Europe resumes its path to a stable solar manufacturing industry, not least because of the rising proportion of solar module costs accounted for by shipping.