Ambitious PV expansion plans for China’s Tongwei, Longi and Sunport still on track
Many expansion plans are still firmly afoot in the Chinese solar PV manufacturing industry, if the information pv magazine gathered from some of the country’s leading manufacturers at last week’s Smarter E event, is anything to go by. Indeed, Tongwei , Longi, Sunport and BYD are all progressing at full speed with their capacity ramp ups.
Kyocera reports lower solar sales for fiscal 2018
The group’s solar business incurred an operating lost in the last fiscal year, due to a write-down related to a long-term purchase contract for the supply of polysilicon.
German scientists use germanium to improve performance of kesterite solar cells
Although current efficiencies for solar cells based on kesterite do not exceed 12.6%, the use of germanium may enable the development of cells with a higher energy band gap.
US researchers mull zinc oxide as solar cell manufacturing alternative to titanium dioxide
The group of scientists has identified a new process by which holes get trapped in nanoparticles made of zinc oxide.
Luxembourg scientists provide new insight on how sodium can be used in thin film solar cell manufacturing
The research team found that sodium, contrary to common belief, does not decrease per se indium and gallium interdiffusion, but instead hinders intergrain diffusion by segregating at grain boundaries.
Spain to again host solar cell manufacturing
The production unit of Spain’s five-year idled solar cell maker, Cel Celis has been acquired by Bashmor Engineering. The new investor plans to restart manufacturing activities at the factory in Bembimbre, and to double capacity to 70 MW within a year.
Shinsung secures 64 MW solar cell order from France
The monocrystalline cells from the Korean manufacturer will be shipped to the French subsidiary of Chinese solar company, Upsolar.
Longi doubles Indian solar manufacturing plans to 2 GW
Longi Solar has upgraded its Indian project, and now aims to establish 1 GW of manufacturing capacity for monocrystalline cells and modules, respectively, at its fab in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
German scientists claim inhomogeneous perovskite films are highly functional
Contrary to common belief, holes in perovskite films may not always negatively affect the performance of perovskite-based solar cells, according to recent research from the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB).
Longi claims 82.15% bifaciality record for its PERC solar cell
After announcing a record 22.71% conversion efficiency with its monocrystalline passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cells in October, the Chinese solar manufacturer now claims it has achieved an 82.15% record bifaciality for the bifacial version of the same cell.
