Weekend Read: A 10 GW time bomb
It is estimated that 10 GW of solar modules in Germany suffer from prematurely aging backsheets, with sites of all sizes affected. pv magazine Germany’s Cornelia Lichner looks at how to detect and repair such defects.
Enel secures EU funds to scale up Italian heterojunction PV module factory to 3 GW
An unspecified sum is being provided by the European Union to help Enel become a large-scale PV panel manufacturer. The Italian company secured the funds through the Innovation Fund
Hard times for french PV module maker Photowatt
According to French financial newspaper Les Echos, EDF, the main shareholder of PhotoWatt, is considering closing the production in Bourgoin-Jallieu. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional council is mobilizing to save the company and announces that a regional company may acquire the module manufacturer.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Another massive glass order and a broken partnership
Jinko Solar secured another 338 million square meters of PV glass from Flat Glass. Tongwei and Trina Solar have left the monocrystalline wafer production joint venture they set up with Longi.
New shingled PERC solar module from Hyundai
The South Korean manufacturer has brought, to Europe and Australia, its recently launched shingled PERC panel, with an output ranging from 470 to 480 W and an efficiency of up to 20.5%. The products come with a 25-year linear power output guarantee and a 25-year product guarantee.
The impact of solar spectra on PV module performance
Scientists in Poland have measured the effect of solar radiation spectra in variable weather conditions on the performance of different kinds of PV module technologies. They found that amorphous silicon panels offer the best response to this effect in stationary or BIPV projects on facades, while crystalline silicon and CIS solar panels represent the best options in projects with trackers.
Chinese patent office rejects patent nullity proceedings against Hanwha Q Cells
Longi Solar had filed two lawsuits in China against the validity of two patents of the photovoltaic manufacturer from South Korea. Hanwha Q-Cells sees now a good chance of being successful in proceedings before the European Patent Office.
Half-cut, bifacial, 20.5%-efficient PERC modules from Vietnam
Chinese solar manufacturer Dehui is planning mass production of 12-busbar bifacial panels based on 182mm wafers from next year.
Photovoltaic shade for greenhouses
French start-up Solar Cloth has secured a patent for a PV shade screen for solar greenhouses.
Keeping PV panels honest
Michelle McCann and Lawrence McIntosh, the partners behind the PV Lab panel-testing facility in Canberra, see Australia’s solar installations as a vast, aggregated virtual power plant.
