Germany

The 2021 edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV) was published today by German engineering association VDMA. The report, which forecasts technology trends across the solar industry, expects PERC to maintain its position as the dominant cell technology and notes that large wafer formats are here to stay.

Sunowe’s trial over allegations of PV module smuggling is expected to resume on May 4. The company has been accused of not paying €20 million in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs.

Germany is currently seeing cool, sunny weather, which is ideal for PV power generation. According to Energy Charts, the photovoltaic systems installed in the country have cracked the 40 GW mark for the first time.

Researchers in Germany claim to have overcome the main challenge for the development of large-area perovskite PV modules – scaling up from the cell to the module level. They achieved an efficiency of up to 16.6% on a module surface of ​​more than 50 centimeters squared, and 18% on a module with an area of 4 centimeters squared.

The solar module will be available in three versions – white, black, and glass-glass. The products have an output of up to 400 W, but when the bifacial effect is optimally used, the output of the glass-glass module can reach up to 430 W. Both the white and black modules weigh less than 20 kg

Due to the Covid-19 crisis the organizers of Intersolar and ees Europe, the largest photovoltaic and storage trade fairs in Europe, have decided to postpone it again. The Smarter E Europe will now take place from October 6th to 8th, 2021. However, the various awards will be presented digitally in July.

Representatives from 15 agricultural and solar businesses, research entities, and certification bodies in Germany have developed DIN SPEC 91434, a new set of proposed standards for agrivoltaics.

Jan Bicker, who replaced Steve O’Neil as the CEO of REC on March 1, says that one of his top priorities is the ongoing development of the company’s Alpha PV modules. REC plans to unveil new, more powerful panels soon, and will make a final decision on a new factory in France in June.

The cell, which looks externally like a device with a two-terminal architecture, was built with III-V semiconductor layers that were connected to the silicon sub-cell on the atomic level. The cell may be used in electrically powered aircraft and drones.

Germany might tender a total of 6 GW of solar next year if the authorities decide to move forward with plans to add 4 GW to the existing volume. An additional 100 MW could be tendered for agrivoltaics and floating PV.