Asia

The German mounting system maker has expanded its production capacity in Shanghai after opening a new, bigger fab in March.

The Chinese manufacturer has not revealed the price of its new ‘ultra-high power’ products, nor whether the power output claims associated with them have been independently verified, but claimed the 78-piece module in the series could generate ‘very close to 600 W.’

Researchers in Singapore have created a device that can produce electricity from the contrast in illumination between lit and shadowed areas under weak ambient light. Although not directly related to solar, this new technology opens up new horizons for producing clean energy under indoor lighting conditions.

Capacity additions will likely rebound in 2021 to surpass 2019 levels, however, as most of the currently delayed solar projects come online.

Jinko Power has moved forward with plans to list shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, while Trina Solar said that the China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved its application for its own initial public offering. Polysilicon producer Daqo, meanwhile, reported solid first-quarter results, and the organizer of the SNEC solar show changed the exhibition’s dates and location once again.

The Indian government plans to set up of a 10 MW grid-connected solar project and a range of unique off-grid applications – including solar trees and solar drinking water kiosks – to meet all the energy requirements of town situated next to a 13th-century Hindu temple.

Cell supply shortages could kick-start manufacturing activity in India, EV car sales are braced for a fall while still gaining market share and a new date has been set for the world’s biggest solar trade show.

Inverter maker Sungrow is supplying the inverters and storage system for China’s largest, 202.8 MW/MWh solar-plus-storage facility. The plant will be connected to a new, 800 kV ultra-high voltage power line.

The world’s solar superpower saw the amount of new capacity added in the first three months of the year fall 24% from the same period of 2019 as 1.75 TWh of solar electricity was curtailed, but the National Energy Administration expects both statistics to improve as China exits the public health crisis.

The solar learning curve usually applied to panel costs has been extrapolated to the larger, non-module element of the price of solar electricity generated by big projects, leading one commentator to predict new solar projects could be cheaper than legacy fossil fuel plants within 10-15 years in certain markets.