REC Group

EnergySage, a residential PV marketplace operator, has released a review of the top solar panel brands in the US market.

Reliance Industries said its solar unit will buy UK-based sodium-ion battery technology provider Faradion for GBP100 million (US$135 million) including debt, as the Indian conglomerate pushes forward with its ambitious plan to move into the renewable energy industry.

India headquartered multinational Reliance Industries, through its subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar Limited, yesterday announced the acquisition of Norway headquartered module manufacturer REC Group. The move comes as Reliance pushes forward with its US$10 billion plan to move in on the renewable energy industry, having also this week announced acquisition of a 40% share in EPC provider Sterling & Wilson.

Jan Bicker, who replaced Steve O’Neil as the CEO of REC on March 1, says that one of his top priorities is the ongoing development of the company’s Alpha PV modules. REC plans to unveil new, more powerful panels soon, and will make a final decision on a new factory in France in June.

The Korean manufacturer today announced it wants to enforce a ruling made in the regional court of Düsseldorf in June which prohibited rival Jinko Solar from making, selling, importing and distributing products which the court ruled had infringed one of Hanwha’s passivation patents.

Amid a growing appetite for sustainability from customers, Lithuanian solar panel maker Solitek is applying circular principles to its production operations. Measures include embracing digitalization and new approaches to design. Project manager Tadas Radavičius has spoken to pv magazine about the company’s work and how Solitek is supporting European projects which are considering circular solar.

The Chinese manufacturer this morning said the International Trade Commission had agreed with the initial determination issued by an administrative law judge in April, that Jinko and peers Longi Solar and REC Group had not infringed Hanwha’s solar cell passivation technology.

The Chinese state-owned solar manufacturer has filed a claim against its Korean competitor relating to REC’s split-cell and junction box technology.

The Norwegian solar manufacturer is considering a 2 GW heterojunction solar module factory in Sarreguemines, in the northeast of the country.

Chief executive Gunter Erfurt told a German radio station a solar factory in North Rhine-Westphalia could supply high-efficiency panels for a 10 GW floating solar project on the vast Hambach open-cast coal mine.