Low outdoor degradation for 20.76%-efficient solar cells made of UMG silicon
Spanish manufacturer Aurinka has tested the degradation rate of its 20.76%-efficient solar cells made of 100% upgraded metallurgical grade (UMG) silicon and has found it shows the same values as conventional polysilicon. The company is currently building a UMG factory in northern Spain.
Solar+storage pushing aside US coal, natural gas, says IEEFA
Technology improvements and price declines have made solar and wind the lowest-cost options in most of the United States, according to the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis.
Debate on alleged forced labor in Chinese PV industry heats up in the Netherlands
Three Dutch political parties have brought the forced labor issue to Parliament and have asked the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Sigrid Kaad, to report on the matter.
European PV organization requests €20bn to support manufacturing
The European Union wants to provide €700 billion through its post-pandemic reconstruction program, but the European Solar Manufacturing Council says that €20 billion of the total should be used to shore up the European PV industry.
Meyer Burger wants to ship first HJT modules in July
The Swiss technology group wants to officially present its heterojunction modules, which are produced in Freiberg, Germany, at the end of April. Meyer Burger concluded its first official sales partnership in Switzerland, with Solarmarkt.
Noise-based technique to test crystalline silicon solar cells
The proposed technique is said to be able to connect directly to the microscopic and medium scale defects in the solar cell materials. It is based on three kinds of noises that science has thus far been able to identify in PV devices.
Chile’s cumulative PV installations hit 4.6 GW
New statistics from ACERA, the Chilean renewable energy association, show that solar covered around 12.9% of the country’s total electricity demand in March.
Larsen & Toubro begins building 300 MW solar plant in Saudi Arabia
India’s Larsen & Toubro has announced plans to provide EPC services to support the deployment of 300 MW of solar in Saudi Arabia, under a contract with a consortium involving Masdar, EDF Renewables, and Saudi Arabia’s Nesma.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Another big polysilicon deal and rising wafer prices
Risen will sell 50,000 metric tons of poly to Shangji Automation and Zhonghuan Semiconductor has raised the prices of all its wafer products.
Silicon for batteries moves to commercial production
U.S. company Group14 Technologies today announced the launch of a factory capable of producing 120 tons per year of its innovative silicon-carbon-based anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The factory is located at Group14’s headquarters in Woodinville, Washington and is the first of several planned by the company.
