Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Energy consultancy DNV GL has published new results comparing the performance of modules based on 166mm, 182mm and 210mm silicon cells. The assessment compares Trina Solar’s Vertex modules, which use the largest cell dimension, with unnamed competitors utilising the other two sizes. Results from system simulations show a clear advantage for the two larger sizes, with 210mm edging ahead in terms of levelised cost of electricity.

The incremental improvements achieved each year in solar are usually relatively small, and improvements to one component can easily be accommodated by the rest of the system. But every so often, a bigger change comes along, with implications that will ripple up and down the supply chain.

The Australian arm of South Korean solar technology giant Hanwha Q-Cells has extended its reach, launching into the New Zealand energy market.

Chinese big-gun Trina Solar has announced that its Vertex S will hit the Australian market in April. Trina hopes the installer-friendly smaller, lighter, and denser Vertex S for residential and SME consumers will capture a significant potion of the booming Australian solar market.

The Japanese brand will continue to sell third-party-made modules under its brand in its home market, as it already does overseas, but in-house PV wafer, cell and module production will halt by the end of fiscal year 2022.

Shanghai-based solar module manufacturer Sunman has warned government-imposed restrictions on the manufacture of glass in China could have an enormous effect on Australia’s booming solar industry.

Six new arrays with a combined capacity of 120 kW will be installed on the International Space Station starting from this year. The panels will be brought to the station with the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft during three resupply missions. The installation of each solar array will require two spacewalks.

Two French companies have collaborated on the development of the Osmo-Watt system, which is powered by solar panels. They claim that the technology can produce up to 100 cubic meters of drinking water per day.

There’s more to read in the solar world than pv magazine alone, as much as we may hate to admit it. Looking back across some of the industry’s seminal works, leading analyst Jenny Chase’s 2019 book is too valuable, and entertaining, to be ignored.

Technical innovation and solar module production at scale bring with them the opportunity to integrate environmental responsibility. One major manufacturer is reaping returns on its investment.