Technology and R&D

Bigger PV module designs are now hitting the market, but the production of larger, more powerful solar panels is challenging. Canadian Solar is launching its new Series 7 modules with pv magazine in a webinar on Oct. 29. Our editorial team recently caught up with Canadian Solar’s chairman and CEO, Shawn Qu, and director of module R&D, Alan Xu, to discuss the company’s latest efforts to shake up the market.

German researchers have proposed a new model, based on a range of parameters, to influence the LCOE of bifacial PV plants, with a focus on components, land costs, inclination angles, albedo, and weather conditions.

Barbara Pompili, the French minister of ecological transition, recently announced new bonus incentives for BIPV projects during a visit to a Sunstyle factory that aims to produce 1 GW of “Made in France” solar tiles by 2025.

Scientists led by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a new stress testing protocol for PV modules, one designed to simultaneously expose modules to multiple stresses, as they likely would be in the field. Putting modules through this test, the researchers have already been able to reveal new information regarding backsheet degradation, and they promise new insights into other degradation mechanisms both known and unknown as well.

Indian researchers have used an “adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system” to assess the performance of hydrogen production backed by a photovoltaic-thermal collector. They claim it can be applied to other hydrogen production systems.

Australian researchers have made a significant discovery in the fight against light-induced phase segregation in next-generation PV cells.

Netherlands-based technology companies Avy and Wattlab have conducted the first test flight of a drone prototype that is planned to be used in medical projects in Africa.

The pilot project, consisting of a 50 MW solar plant and a utility scale electrolyzer, is planned to test how this combination may help reduce grid constraints in the country.

The Korean manufacturer today announced it wants to enforce a ruling made in the regional court of Düsseldorf in June which prohibited rival Jinko Solar from making, selling, importing and distributing products which the court ruled had infringed one of Hanwha’s passivation patents.

Slowly but surely, environmental concerns are making their way into mainstream thought throughout the PV industry. A look at recycling offers an example of this, with stakeholders trying to get ahead of the high volumes of end-of-life modules already on the horizon. pv magazine examines the technologies that will be needed, alongside policy and economic support, to keep the bulk of these modules out of landfill and ultimately to establish a circular economy for PV materials.