IBC Solar

Donations of cash and solar equipment have thrown a lifeline to schools, hospitals, and communities in Ukraine but the country needs much more, including long-term backing for the recovery of its industry, reports Ian Skarytovsky.

The search for ever higher conversion efficiency has driven solar researchers to focus on back-contact cell approaches, and efforts to devise more cost-effective manufacturing are bringing technologies such as interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar into the mainstream, as Mark Hutchins reports.

The latest global PV installer survey by Germany’s EUPD Research offers a hint of the solar brands which installers, mostly based in Europe, gravitate toward. This year’s report also ventured to South Africa and considered mounting systems for the first time.

Solar module technology has been advancing in both power output and size. With the range of available formats bigger than ever before, the PV industry cannot afford a one-size-fits-all approach. For mounting system manufacturers, demand is high for systems that flexibly adapt to different module dimensions while minimizing the risk of cell damage. In the following interview, IBC Solar discusses its new roof mounting system and the features which make it adaptable to modules with lengths from 1,500 to 2,100 mm and widths from 980 to 1,150 mm.

Researchers in Germany are trialing a host of new processes and materials to develop interdigitated back contact solar cells. A deposition technology named ‘hot-wire’ chemical vapor deposition, is said to provide excellent passivation without the need for treatments such as recrystallization or hydrogenation.

The German solar company issued a statement over the weekend claiming it had been the victim of fraud perpetrated by its module importers and stating its intent to sue the offenders if the modules in question are found to have had their documents of origin deliberately altered.

Investigators have accused the Bad Staffelstein-based business of having purchased incorrectly-declared modules from China and evading around €23 million in import duties. The company’s head office and the private apartments of board members have been searched.

IBC Solar has completed the installation of a 27 MW solar PV plant in the state of Odisha, while Sunsure Energy installed 20 MW across two plants in Karnataka.

While the German EPC contractor has installed a 4.2 MW rooftop solar PV plant, the manufacturer has agreed to supply 60 MW of modules to the Turkish market.

The large-scale project will be owned and developed by IBC solar in Odisha.