Inverters

Daqo revealed it will list its main production unit in Shanghai, while Goodwe secured approval for its own plans to list shares. Cybrid Technologies, meanwhile, said it will ramp up production of polyolefin elastomer (POE) encapsulant films.

Sveck, China’s top supplier of EVA films for PV modules, has revealed plans to list shares in Shenzhen. China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp. has selected Longi and EGing to respectively supply 238 MW and 112 MW of panels for its projects, with Longi also announcing wafer price cuts. Jincheng Machinery, meanwhile, has started raising funds to develop a new production line.

CREE has developed a new MOSFET that could be suitable for silicon-carbide-based string inverters above 10 kW in size. The U.S. manufacturer says switching losses are 20% lower with the new transistor than with common silicon carbide MOSFETs, and claims that the product reduces conduction losses by 50%, to offer potential power-density growth of 300%.

A reformed electricity market, officials who are supportive of PV’s new competitive position, and growing renewable energy ambitions are driving significant growth in Israel’s solar market this year. And with its homegrown hero in the background, solutions for the country to become a clean energy leader could already be in place.

Inverter maker Sungrow is supplying the inverters and storage system for China’s largest, 202.8 MW/MWh solar-plus-storage facility. The plant will be connected to a new, 800 kV ultra-high voltage power line.

Datang Group has launched a bidding process to procure 5.5 GW of PV modules and inverters for its own solar projects. The SNEC trade show in Shanghai has set new official dates, after being postponed in early April due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And Topray Solar is seeking to raise funds for a 200 MW solar project in Guangdong province.

China’s cumulative installed PV capacity topped 208 GW at the end of March, thanks to 3.95 GW of new projects completed in the first quarter. JinkoSolar and Longi both joined the 500 W-plus module race, with their new panels offering 580 W and 530 W of output, respectively. Ginlong, meanwhile, has revealed plans to raise funds to increase its annual inverter production capacity to 20 GW, and Xi’An Solar has claimed a 23.2% efficiency rate for its N-type TOPCon modules in mass production.

Three major Chinese PV manufacturers have announced capacity expansion plans over the past week. Chint also released its 2019 financial results, while Kstar unveiled a new inverter supply deal.

The Chinese conglomerate has revealed how it will further integrate artificial intelligence (AI) in its string devices this year. The approach includes the transformation of inverters into smart PV controllers, the development of AI inference modules and the creation of an AI training and inference platform. Machine learning will also be incorporated into operations and maintenance, grid management and PV plant design.

Longi and Sungrow both announced solid financial results last week. Module maker China Solar delayed the resumption of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, and polysilicon producer GCL-Poly unveiled plans to raise up to US$16.8 million by issuing shares. Coal miner Baofeng Energy, meanwhile, announced the construction of what it claims will be the world’s largest PV-powered hydrogen plant, and Seraphim and Lu’An Solar revealed that they will open a 5 GW PV panel factory in China’s Jiangsu province.