Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Tata Power’s PV module subsidiary, TP Solar, has produced more than 4 GW of solar panels and 1.4 GW of cells at its factory in Tamil Nadu, India.

An international team of researchers used a novel interfacial treatment to improve the performance of perovskite solar cells across a range of narrow and wide bandgap single junction, tandem, and mini-module samples. An all-perovskite tandem solar cell demonstrated its use with a certified efficiency of 29.5%.

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.