Magazine Archive 11-2012

PV Taiwan: Taiwan’s international photovoltaics expo showcased not only Taiwan’s solar industry but the potential synergies between the world’s top two solar manufacturers, China and Taiwan. But is Taiwan’s solar industry ready to get together with its biggest rival? pv magazine spoke with industry leaders at PV Taiwan.

Building-integrated PV: The technology trends at Solar Decathlon Europe, which took place in Madrid in September, included hybrid PV thermal technology, good-looking thin film facades and touchscreen energy management. However, Solar Decathlon is an architectural competition, and photovoltaic technology is not the focus. It’s about integration of PV into the building.

Chinese factory gate prices: The utilization rates of Chinese suppliers are still very low. PV installations in China are rising, but module prices are expected to stay low.

Latin America: Caribbean adoption of PV seems like a foregone conclusion given high kilowatt hour prices based on imported oil. But entrenched and unprepared utilities may be the hardest sell to make a deal work.

Cell testing: Solar cells are vulnerable to defects, such as microcracks, at every step of the manufacturing process. Some module manufacturers have therefore started carefully screening the goods coming from their suppliers. Manufacturers are taking a close look at what comes in the door and keeping cell suppliers on their toes.

Ardour Solar Index: Trade wars and weak 3Q12 expectations loom. The industry conferences of 3Q12 provided little direction for the Ardour Solar Index.

PV+Test: Four more modules made by Chinese manufacturers have undergone the Solarpraxis/TUV Rheinland module test. The manufacturer JS Solar has proven that China is capable of producing high quality modules. The other two manufacturers, however, underscore the fact that this is not always the case.

Applications & Installations | Product News | Production Technology Production Technology/SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG Polish/Etch can be retrofitted The Linea II Single Side Polish Etch (SSE-PE) from Singulus is part of a production line upgrade developed by the company. This is a new production solution for rear side passivated silicon solar cells. In order to upgrade […]

Silver pastes: A committee of the industry association Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) is looking at how to reduce the amount of silver used in photovoltaic cells. Stephan Raithel of the SEMI PV Group as well as Weiming Zhang and David P. McMullen of Heraeus Precious Metals report on the goals, the approaches, and the achievements.