China

The SNEC 2020 PV Power Expo opened on Aug. 8 in Shanghai. Unlike previous editions, the world’s largest solar trade fair was mostly attended by Chinese participants this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the trade fair used to offer insights into global market trends, volumes were low this year due to a buyer/seller standoff amid rising prices caused by the recent accidents at polysilicon plants in Xinjiang. Also, there was little change in technologies. PV InfoLink’s Corrine Lin offers insights into cells and modules at SNEC 2020.

Germany based PV equipment supplier RENA Technologies has received what it describes as its ‘biggest ever order’, from a tier 1 manufacturer in Asia, for 15 GW of its wafer texturing equipment. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, although the company states that the order is worth “tens of millions of euros.”

All the indicators are pointing gradually in the right direction as new owner Beijing Energy bids to put a torrid year behind the solar developer and the company has announced its intent to enter the European solar market and explore hydrogen and energy storage.

Once an industrial solar giant, Suntech has worked hard to rebuild its foundations and regain a solid footing in the global PV industry, following its financial crash in 2013. pv magazine caught up with CEO Tang Jun at this year’s SNEC 2020, held in Shanghai, China, last month, to find out its plans for the future, and how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected operations. Strong global growth and continued multi-crystalline production are two cornerstones of the business.

Module manufacturer Trina Solar has completed the acquisition of the Spanish tracker company, inverter maker Sungrow has secured contracts from Three Gorges New Energy and Akcome Technologies has completed construction of its heterojunction cell and module factory.

BYD and Fronius have started offering the BYD Battery-Box Premium storage system and Fronius Symo GEN24 Plus inverter as a bundle. They said the combined solution can be used in residential PV arrays and light commercial systems.

Jolywood is one of the few PV manufacturers, who has placed its bet on TOPCon technology. Instead of focusing on the simplicity of the production process, Jolywood believes the conversion rate is more critical. With years of efforts, the company has established its leading position among TOPCon players. During the SNEC 2020 in Shanghai, pv magazine had the opportunity to interview Liu Zhifeng, Vice General Manager of Jolywood, and listened to his views on some hot topics, especially the cell tech route.

Researchers in Taiwan have developed an organic PV module with an active area of 216 sq cm. The panel is said to have open circuit voltage of 10.6 V and short circuit current of 1.82 mA. It also features the highest efficiency reported for a panel of its kind which has an active area of more than 100cm2

In-country analyst the AECEA has speculated the authorities could be ready to wipe the slate clean for the start of the nation’s 14th five-year plan on January 1. The analyst has raised its solar expectations for the year but noted the sky-high price of polysilicon remains a concern for developers.

Polysilicon maker GCL-Poly has started construction of a factory with an annual production capacity of 54,000 MT as Chinese inverter manufacturer Goodwe launched an IPO on the Shanghai stock market.