polycrystalline

The 275,000 metric tons of annual polysilicon production facilities pushed out of the industry by the expansion of big Chinese producers is more than double the capacity lost in the last great poly market shake-out, between 2010 and 2013.

The Chinese-Canadian company has unveiled a range of high-power modules which are set to go into mass production by early next year. The series includes a commercial and industrial rooftop-dedicated product offering a reported 405 W.

Scientists in India have used a pouch laminator to encapsulate a polycrystalline solar cell. The resulting device, the researchers claim, showed better UV photon absorption than solar cells treated with a polymer surface coating.

The solar manufacturer and developer was racing to sell off a significant chunk of its late-stage portfolio by the end of last month to rebound after assuring investors the losses registered in the first quarter of this year would prove to be a one-off.

The manufacturer plans to add 350 MW of manufacturing capacity at its two sites in Tunisia by next year. The ramping up is due to new orders from India and other foreign markets.

Taiwan-based analyst firm, WisolPro says the global capacity for PERC cells is rapidly increasing, with the technology likely to replace polycrystalline cells. HJT, thin film, and n-type PERT technologies are also on the rise.

In a bombshell announcement at the start of the week, the PV company said it would construct a gigawatt solar module fab in Austria. Now, Rene Battistutti, CEO at Energetica Group tells pv magazine why he believes the company’s modules are competitive with Asian products.

The new products for off-grid applications are two thirds lighter than standard modules.

Solartech Energy has revealed plans to expand output of passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cells by installing two new production lines from August, from four at present.

Roughly 6.85 GW of solar panels were shipped in Japan in the fiscal year to the end of March 2017, from about 5.56 GW in the preceding year, according to new statistics from the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA).