Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

All the fundamentals are in place for Turkey to be a leading light in solar but an all-too-familiar lack of policy certainty, coupled with a troubled macroeconomic backdrop, mean the nation is still unable to realize its PV potential.

With competition on the module market as cutthroat as ever, manufacturers are increasingly looking to emphasize the quality and reliability of their products and services as a differentiator. pv magazine investigates what’s behind some of these claims, and the move from manufacturers to more sophisticated quality assurance methods.

According to the general manager of French PV production equipment provider Apollon Solar, Jed Kraiem, multicrystalline cells are expected to have a share of only 40% in 2019 global demand, with mono PERC cell structures now clearly being in advantage thanks to higher efficiencies and increasingly lowering costs. He claims, however, that technological advances in the solar industry historically are implemented first in the mono segment and then transferred to the multicrystalline business.

As the Turkish market cools as the result of a policy vacuum, rumors are now circulating that its developers and installers are being hampered by restricted module imports. While some exceptions apply, claims are the measures, described as “blatant protectionism” by some are damaging the market.

The ITC will look at cells made by LONGi, JinkoSolar and REC Group, based on claims by Hanwha Q Cells that the companies have infringed on its PERC technology.

The company — which owns a 100 MW solar panel factory in Zaanstad, in the Dutch province of North Holland — is seeking to implement a restart under controlled administration. It cited delays in the delivery of production equipment and a working capital deficit as the main reasons for the insolvency proceedings.

Power provider Stadtwerke Waldkirch has built a 264 kW PV system in Germany with Sunman’s glass-free modules, as a titanium rooftop at the project site made it impossible to use conventional modules.

The German PV equipment provider recorded consolidated sales of €180 million and an EBITDA of €6.6 million last year. However, order intake from the PV industry was lower than in the previous year.

Sharp has released three new high-efficiency mono-PERC solar panels. Ranging from 300 W to 370 W, the five-busbar modules are designed for use in a range of applications, from residential PV projects to large commercial installations.

The company has received financial support of PLN 50 million ($13 million) for the project from the Polish national development bank. The facility will produce BIPV cells and panels based on ML System’s quantum dots technology.