Solar Cells

Ascent Solar, a US-based manufacturer, has achieved an efficiency of 17.55% for its copper, indium, gallium and selenide (CIGS) technology. It says it plans to release a new CIGS solar module with this efficiency rating soon.

A Wood Mackenzie report forecasts that China will hold more than 80% of poly, wafer, cell and module manufacturing capacity for the next three years.

SunDrive Solar, a Sydney-based startup working to replace the silver in solar cells with copper, has obtained AUD 11 million ($7 million) from Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to expand its metallized cell production to a commercial scale of more than 100 MW per annum.

Researchers in Bangladesh have simulated a solar cell based on a copper bismuth oxide material, used as an absorber, with a hole transport layer made of copper(I) oxide (Cu2O). In the experiment, the device achieved a power conversion efficiency of 29.2%, an open-circuit voltage of 1.02 V, a short-circuit current density of 32.49 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 87.91%.

Hering Group, a centuries-old German construction and engineering company, says it has acquired the PV manufacturing facilities of organic solar film developer Asca, based in Kitzingen, Germany. The previous owners of the facilities describe Asca as a “largely loss-making” venture lacking in sales.

Econergy and NoFar Energy unveiled their jointly managed 155 MW Rătești PV Park in Romania’s south last week, which is claimed to be the country’s largest PV facility. An Econergy spokesperson told pv magazine that the plant, spread across 170 hectares, will be connected to the electricity grid by the end of the month.

Mondragon Assembly has provided French company Reden Solar with a 400 MW production line. Operations are scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2024.

The Sri Lankan government’s Ministry of Power and Energy is inviting applicants to submit proposals for the construction of two 100 MW floating solar plants at the hydroelectric Samanalawewa Reservoir. The aim is to complement and “leverage” the country’s third-largest hydroelectric scheme through PV.

Scientists in Germany conceived a solar-powered energy storage system that can reportedly achieve the high voltage levels required for applications in Internet of Things environments. The system combines a multi-junction organic solar cell with a dual-ion organic battery.

India’s Kosol Energie has installed a new 1 GW production line to produce TOPCon solar modules ranging from 580 W up to 715 W, in both mono-facial and bifacial variants.