China

In the first article of a series, pv magazine editor Pilar Sánchez Molina analyzes with industry experts challenges and opportunities created by new panels with power output exceeding 500 W.

Longyuan Power has signed a deal to build a 2 GW hybrid wind-solar-storage project in Inner Mongolia. JA Solar and Sungrow, meanwhile, said that they have supplied PV modules and inverters for a 133 MW solar-wind project in South Korea.

Chinese monocrystalline PV module manufacturer Longi has yet to join the race to produce solar panels with power outputs above 600 W. The decision is line with a clear strategy, a company spokesperson told pv magazine. Outstanding issues for these moduels, according to the manufacturer, include low cell manufacturing yield, system compatibility, concerns about module transport, and hotspot-related failure risks, as well as the need for mechanical loading tests.

A newly proposed inverter design relies on a solar charge controller featuring maximum power point tracking. It is based on an artificial fish-swarm algorithm, which offers high convergence speeds, flexibility, fault tolerance, and accuracy.

International thinktank IEEFA says there are 50 viable green hydrogen projects under development with an estimated renewable energy capacity of 50 GW and the potential to produce 4 million tonnes of the fuel annually.

Chinese polysilicon manufacturer Daqo has secured a long-term supply agreement with PV equipment provider and monocrystalline wafer manufacturer Wuxi Shangji Automation, Shanxi Coal International Energy Group has unveiled a plan to set up a 10 GW heterojunction solar cell production fab and Longi has held its wafer prices.

There was rare good news for the remaining independent shareholders of the state-controlled solar developer, as the overdue 2019 figures were finally published, with new auditor PwC shaving almost $15 million off a near-$540 million loss.

Trina Solar has made a PV cell by directly applying the unmodified i-TOPCon process, originally developed for Cz mono wafers, to cast n-type quasi-mono silicon wafers. It claims the average efficiency, tested in-house with a calibrated reference cell, is 22.98%.

India imported $1.3 billion worth of solar cells and modules from China in fiscal 2019-20, but domestic manufacturers are now demanding a level playing field to compete against cheaper imports.

State-run coal producer China Pingmei Shenma has revealed plans to enter the PV module business with a 5 GW production unit in Henan province. JinkoSolar, meanwhile, has started building a new factory for aluminum PV panel frames.