photovoltaic

Belgian heating specialist Wanit has developed a solar water heater that purportedly reduces the cost of domestic hot water by 85%. The PV water heater solution includes a main dual tank and a solar connector that links the tank with a rooftop PV system and residential battery.

In other news, Zhonghuan Semiconductor announced it will begin selling 210 mm n-type wafers and the local government in Zhejiang Province said it wants to deploy another 12.4 GW of new PV by 2024.

Evidence of the extent to which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is investigating public allegations made against PV manufacturers has been highlighted in its due diligence processes. As a multilateral financial institution supporting renewable projects in many countries, smaller banks may mirror the EBRD’s efforts. pv magazine spoke with PI Berlin Managing Director Asier Ukar about the current state of solar supply-chain traceability systems.

Mibet has developed a new PV mounting structure made of stainless steel and aluminum, providing a perfect match between TPO fixing supports and trapezoidal metal rooftops. The apparatus includes a rail, two clamp kits, a support kit, the TPO roof fixing support, and a TPO cover plate.

Hungary’s Astrasun has announced plans to set up a 1.8 GW wafer factory in Romania, as well as cell and module production facilities with capacities of 1.5 GW and 1.2 GW, respectively.

UK-based Xlinks plans to build 10.5 GW of wind and solar in Morocco and sell the power in the United Kingdom. London-based investment firm Octopus Energy said it joined forces with the project developer, Xlinks, to help it move forward with construction.

Indian solar manufacturer Waaree Energies has secured domestic and international orders to supply 5 GW of its bifacial 540 Wp and 600 Wp solar panels.

A new US Department of Energy report describes the challenges of commercializing perovskite technology for the solar energy sector.

Evonik Industries says its new additive series can achieve a significantly better cut quality ratio at higher cutting speeds and smaller wire diameters on large wafers (M12), which means cheaper post-processing work for sliced ​​wafers.

Scientists in the United States have fabricated a triple-junction solar cell that reached 39.5% efficiency – a world record for any type of cell under one-sun illumination. Though relying on materials and processes that are still too costly for most commercial uses, the concept could soon see actual applications in powering satellites and other space-bound technology.