Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

US solar manufacturing ramped up sharply in the first quarter of 2025, supporting record levels of new capacity as solar and storage made up 82% of additions to the grid. But proposed legislation and rising import tariffs could cloud growth prospects.

Qcells says its new EcoRecycle facility in the US state of Georgia will remove aluminum, glass, silver and copper from used solar modules and process them for re-use.

SunPower CEO T.J. Rodgers says the company will survive looming cuts to federal solar incentives by staying lean, sharpening its technology edge, and tapping private capital. He argues that the industry will be stronger without subsidies.

Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a hydrogel composite that absorbs moisture in solar modules overnight and facilitates evaporative cooling throughout daylight hours. The system has undergone lab tests and outdoor experiments on two continents.

Chinese solar cell maker Drinda and Turkey’s Schmid Pekintas Energy have revealed plans to jointly develop a 5 GW n-type solar cell facility to bypass EU trade barriers.

JinkoSolar led global PV module shipments in 2024, followed by JA Solar, Longi, Canadian Solar and Trina Solar, according to Wood Mackenzie. The research firm notes a growing shift toward full vertical integration among top manufacturers.

Chinese scientists hit 24.6% efficiency with a two-terminal perovskite-CIGS tandem cell by adding D-homoserine lactone hydrochloride (D-HLH) to the perovskite precursor, marking one of the highest reported performances for the technology.

Scientists in India have designed a new soiling chamber that is capable of emulating the soiling conditions of a given geographical location in a shorter time frame, hosting larger panels compared to conventional setups. The new chamber can be used to estimate soiling losses and cleaning costs for potential solar power plant sites, to improve existing soiling models, to investigate how factors like tilt angle affect soiling, and to evaluate the effectiveness and durability of anti-soiling coatings.

Scientists in China have introduced developments to the RIME optimization method, which takes inspiration from the developmental course of hoarfrost in nature. They have compared it to other MPPT algorithms and found it to be faster and to improve power output.

Brazil’s solar imports fell 33% to $722 million in the first four months of 2025 amid project delays and oversupply, as new trade routes began cutting costs and freight times to the country’s North and Northeast regions.