Five hot PV module and cell takeaways from SNEC
While lacking the swarming crowds of previous years, the 2019 SNEC in Shanghai remained a focal point of the global PV industry when it comes to industrial solar cell and module manufacturing and technology. Here are five hot technology takeaways from the pv magazine team on the show floor and conference sessions.
Prototype modules featuring ‘3D wafers’ on show at SNEC
New modules incorporating American company 1366 Technologies’ 3D direct wafers were unveiled yesterday at the SNEC trade show in Shanghai. The prototype modules are produced by Korean manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells. The two companies have a strategic partnership going back several years, and are ramping up a wafer factory near Q Cells’ module facilities in Malaysia.
Q-Cells unveils new half-cell monocrystalline panel
According to the Korean manufacturer, its Q.Peak Duo-G6 module is produced with larger wafers than those used in the G5. This is said to increase module yield by around 6% for a power output ranging from 355-420 W.
U.S. trade authorities to investigate Jinko, LONGi, REC cells
The ITC will look at cells made by LONGi, JinkoSolar and REC Group, based on claims by Hanwha Q Cells that the companies have infringed on its PERC technology.
Mega projects, mega problems
The clouds gathering over Turkey’s 1 GW solar park in Konya, the first YEKA tender, are dominating discussion among the country’s PV players. Developments surrounding the Konya tender illustrate the Turkish solar market’s challenges, as the country’s unsteady economy and its policy preference for local manufacturing appear to be acting as a brake on installations.
Hanwha Q Cells expands Australian patent infringement lawsuit to include REC, BayWa r.e., Sol Distribution
The South Korean solar module maker has filed another claim with the Federal Court of Australia against Norwegian solar manufacturer REC Group, as well as PV distributors BayWa r.e. Solar Systems and Sol Distribution, for distributing products that allegedly infringe on its patents.
ACWA triumphs again in Middle Eastern tendering exercise
With no details reported on the final electricity price agreed for a 500 MW solar project to be built in Oman, speculation will center on whether the victorious Saudi power company and its Kuwaiti partners have again trumped lower offers from overseas rivals.
A year for transition: Japan’s move beyond the big scale
For the past few years, Japan’s solar industry insiders have been eyeing 2019 as a year of transition in the residential rooftop market, as the original 10 year feed-in tariffs come to an end. So, what will this post-FIT landscape look like, and how are Japan’s leading PV suppliers preparing for the future? Hanwha Q Cells’ Japan Marketing Manager Junichi Katayama breaks down the main points.
Meyer Burger joins the fray over Hanwha patent infringement claims
The Swiss solar equipment maker has endorsed a claim by Chinese solar manufacturer Longi that the technology it uses differs from that at the center of Hanwha Q Cells’ patent infringement complaints.
Hanwha Q-Cells sues Jinko, Longi for patent infringement in Australia
The Korean solar manufacturer has lodged a lawsuit with the Federal Court of Australia against Chinese panel makers Jinko and Longi following similar allegations in the U.S. and Germany.
