Huawei

Chinese solar module manufacturer Trina Solar has listed all inverter producers that in the past weeks have unveiled new devices or upgraded products for solar panels based on 210mm silicon wafers. Huawei, Sineng, Sungrow, SMA, GoodWe, Ginlong, and Kstar have all reportedly launched or are planning to launch centralized or string inverters that may better cope with bigger and more powerful panels.

A 50 MW PV project, located in northern central Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district, has begun supplying electricity to the national grid. Full commercial operations for the plant are expected to begin in January.

The technology group from China is now presenting its Luna2000 photovoltaic storage system on a roadshow across Germany. It will start sales with a number of partners later this year in several European countries.

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.

The Covid-19 pandemic quarantine has introduced a new set of challenges for solar PV operations and maintenance. The topic has gained industry attention now that PV sites lack onsite personnel. Huawei says its new Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis – integrating artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and PV – is a first-step solution toward unmanned O&M. With the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) ever decreasing, improvements in O&M efficiency and accompanying cost reductions may accelerate the arrival of the grid parity era.

Huawei said the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court in China has ruled in its favor in a patent dispute with its Israeli rival.

In 2016, Huaneng Hainan Power and Huawei jointly digitalized the Dongfang solar power plant in Hainan, China. As the first solar PV project to be digitalized, it is worth taking a look back to see how the new technology has actually bolstered performance.

The falling cost of PV has increasingly driven the adoption of solar technology in recent years. But for a long time, the solar industry was fully dependent on subsidies. German PV project developer BayWa r.e. made headlines in 2018 with its 175 MW Don Rodrigo plant just outside of Seville, in southern Spain. The company backed the array with a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA), marking the first time a project of that size had been refinanced in Europe without the help of subsidies. It later charted new territory again with the completion of Germany’s first subsidy-free PV project in 2019.

Solar PV generation is one of the world’s most promising technologies for a sustainable energy future. However, as solar and other intermittent renewable energy sources increasingly enter the grid, the establishment of grid connections has become a challenge that could threaten future expansion. Now, solar PV technology is rapidly moving from a passive role to an active one, as it takes on a starring role to support electric utility power grids.

Europe is widely considered a renewable energy powerhouse, at least with regards to technology establishment and kick-starting the green economy. Installation trends and markets are expanding – and Covid-19 could provide new opportunities for the continent.