Technology

Research carried out by China‘s National Photovoltaic Quality Inspection Center shows that new n-type TOPCon modules are living up to their promise, outperforming the previous generation of p-type PERC products. Data gathered over six months from a fixed-tilt PV system showed that the n-type products produced 3.69% more energy, and also suffered much lower performance losses.

George Hilton, research manager at S&P Global, spoke to pv magazine at the recent Intersolar 2023 trade show about the latest energy storage trends. He said the industry needs easy-to-install products and more efficient supply chains, and noted that battery prices are highly volatile because they fluctuate in response to changes in the dynamic Chinese electric vehicle market.

Decarbon Venture has launched what it claims to be the world’s first “swappable” solar generator at half the weight and double the power rating of other products on the market.

Finnish scientists have tested a new eddy current-based soldering method for ribbon tabbing in solar cells and have found it considerably reduces the number of cracks and damages caused by thermal-mechanical stress in the process. They claim the new technique may already compete with conventional soldering methods in commercial production.

New research from Serbia claims air-polluted urban climatic conditions may not only induce maximum power point (MPP) tracking problems in PV systems but also reduce power yield by up to 30%. The scientists also said that soiling may significantly affect the functionality of single-stage inverters operating in grid-forming mode.

Solinteg is offering nine versions of its new on-grid inverters, with nominal power ranging from 4 kW to 25 kW, an efficiency rating of up to 98.8%, and a European efficiency of up to 98.2%

A new study proposes blockchain-based solar passports to address the PV waste management challenge in India. It says such a framework would enable transparent tracking and verification of PV panels throughout their life cycle.

A group of researchers from Utrecht University analyzed offshore floating photovoltaic (OFPV) systems to determine reasons for enhanced performance compared with land-based systems. Out of their research, the team developed two regression models to help predict yield advantages when siting projects.

Germany-based Solar Kapital has used membranes at three of its PV plants in Greece. It claims that the payback time of the new solution is relatively short.

GCL-SI has launched a new 320 W perovskite solar module. The company guarantees that the 10-year end power output will be at least 90% of the nominal output power, which decreases to 80% after 25 years.