Spanish bank acquires big stake in solar racking manufacturer
Banco Sabadell has acquired a 41.5% interest in Pamplona-based STI Norland through its Aurica Capita fund.
SolarEdge figures tick all the boxes for investors
Lack of flannel in the latest quarterly and full-year filing indicates the Israeli inverter maker is happy the figures speak for themselves. The company is in an expansionary mode as it enters the energy storage and electrical vehicle markets with cash from its financial warchest.
New layer raises efficiency of heterojunction solar cells
A Dutch research team has used highly transparent, hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon oxide layers to improve the optoelectrical performance of contact stacks in a silicon heterojunction device. The material is said to offer superior electrical as well as favorable optical properties.
Chinese giant doubles down on cell production expansion
The 5 GW of new production lines announced by JA Solar at the start of the year have now been doubled as the company also unveiled plans to rejig up to 3.6 GW of its existing facilities to accommodate bigger wafers.
Batteries under solar modules just like microinverters and optimizers
Texan start-up Yotta Energy has a potential solution for residential solar-plus-storage. Will the micro-storage company become the next SolarEdge or Enphase or suffer the fate of JLM Energy? And whatever happened to SolPad?
A nanoparticle-sensitized solar cell with 8.5% efficiency
The record feat compares to usual figures of 2-3% for such devices. The Taiwanese scientists who developed the cell said it was prepared with the Silar method and is based on a ternary metal sulfide-alloyed semiconductor. They claim performance could be further boosted.
Indian tender for supply of 12 million solar cells
State-owned engineer and manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has invited bids for the supply of cells with five busbars and a minimum efficiency of 18.8%. Bidding closes on Friday.
Assessing the impact of micro-cracks in solar glass
A Turkish research team has analyzed how big changes in temperature can affect absorbance, light transmittance and reflectivity in two types of solar glass. The scientists demonstrated lower efficiency in solar cells and the glass itself were attributable to a large number of micro-cracks and deformations on the glass surface.
Court stops tree clearance for Tesla’s proposed Berlin gigafactory
The High Administrative Court of the Brandenburg region temporarily stopped preparatory work at the site in Grünheide, near Berlin at the weekend. A final decision from the local administration is expected “in a timely manner”.
Downsizing silicon carbide inverters
Japanese researchers have investigated the effectiveness of SiC devices in sub-kilowatt applications. A 790g device was tested in a mini PV generator system which included a battery and maximum power point tracker circuit in the same housing. Compared to traditional mini inverters the SiC device showed 3% higher efficiency.
