First Solar delivers on earnings, margins, falls short on revenue
US-based thin-film PV manufacturer First Solar says it has raised its expectations for 2023 as its order backlog continues to grow.
Masked engineer highlights strangest mistakes in solar deployment
A Brazilian engineer on Instagram, always wearing a mask, has become a sensation in the Brazilian solar industry, attracting 12 sponsors with a mission to educate companies and consumers about common errors to avoid in rooftop PV installations.
New survey shows ‘massive’ increase in PV module microcracks
A new study from Clean Energy Associates (CEA) shows that 83% of sites tested as part of a global survey had line cracks, 78% had a soldering anomaly and 76% had complex cracks. The survey involved visual inspections combined with electroluminescence testing across 148 sites in 16 countries.
Scottish lobby group praises plan to install 4-6 GW of solar by 2030
Scottish Renewables, a major renewable energy lobby group, says it welcomes the Scottish government’s commitment to increase the nation’s total installed PV capacity by 4 GW to 6 GW by 2030.
Cadmium telluride solar cells show strong resistance after 30,000 orbits around Earth
Researchers in the United Kingdom have tested the perfomance of cadmium telluride solar cells deployed on the AlSat-1N 3U CubeSat satellite from 2016 to 2022. Their findings show the devices exhibited no significant performance changes, nor any sign of delamination.
New lead-free perovskite solar cell design promises 26.96% efficiency
Bangladeshi scientists have developed a high-efficiency perovskite solar cell with 26.96% efficiency, an open-circuit voltage of 1.0478 V, and a fill factor of 81.35%.
JinkoSolar claims 26.89% efficiency rating for new N-type solar cell
JinkoSolar claims that its new 182 mm n-type monocrystalline silicon solar cell has reached a maximum solar conversion efficiency of 26.89%. It says the achievement has been independently verified by a third party.
Risk premiums for PV projects remain ‘stubbornly high’ in India
The cost of capital for solar projects has decreased across nine major markets over more than a decade, two researchers looking into the economic issue have told pv magazine. But India, considered one of the world’s most prominents PV markets, is ailed by “stubbornly high” risk premiums for these kinds of developments.
Boamax unveils heterojunction solar modules with 730 W output
Boamax, the Chinese module manufacturer, recently announced it will release two new bifacial hetero junction solar modules. Both products feature a temperature coefficient of -0.28% per C.
Perovskite solar dell with TMO Buffer Layers hits 15.7% efficiency
Researchers in Italy have used protective buffer layers in perovskite solar cells to mitigate damage during the sputtering of indium tin oxide in the production process. They claim the buffer layers were able to fulfill this mission without impairing the cell’s average visible transmittance.
