First Solar

“Determining how many years a solar panel will last can take, well, years.”

Strong net sales, 1.6 GW of bookings, plans for a 445 W panel, and environmental recognition for the Series 6 line point to another successful quarter.

The Italian energy company has developed four big solar plants in the last 21 months to add 794 MW of generation capacity to its 3.67 GW solar portfolio and is emblematic of companies from the wider energy sector focusing on the renewable technology.

Rising volumes of solar capacity are to be welcomed but, as panelists at a session of today’s SolarPower Europe event discussed, the technology must be kept ethical and responsible. That means industry working together; new, harmonized, mandatory and voluntary policy instruments; and a focus on quantifiable, life cycle-based investor criteria.

The electronics giant is building two PV plants with a combined generation capacity of 58 MW owned by U.S. module manufacturer First Solar. Toshiba is also extending its hydrogen research project in Fukushima for another two years.

The U.S. utility-scale PV pioneer is going small. After decades of avoiding distributed generation, it is now offering its Series 6 modules for ‘projects and customers of all shapes and sizes.’

Negative second-quarter updates from China and uber-low new-solar figures from India, however, show the world is far from out of the woods yet.

Another stalwart of the solar industry was able to take the necessary precautions in order to maintain a sense of normalcy during the pandemic, leading to a quarter of increased sales, net cash, and a positive outlook to finish off the year.

pv magazine editor Pilar Sánchez Molina recalls news from the PV sector of ten years ago as part of a new series. The insights offered will not only bring back memories for the pioneers of that exciting, challenging period but may also offer an idea of where we could be in 2030.

Renewables are the best way for Europe to decarbonize, the Choose Renewable Hydrogen coalition said this week, prior to the upcoming release of its hydrogen and energy-system integration plan.