Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

German startup 1Komma5 has started production on its own solar modules, which are expected to hit Australian shores “imminently,” Chris Williams, CEO of its APAC arm, told pv magazine Australia. The company has just signed a polysilicon contract with fellow German company Wacker, a step towards addressing issues around unethical labour and embedded emissions in solar’s supply chain.

The Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) latest white paper on solar and storage manufacturing includes an interactive map. It shows that momentum has started to build for a transformational expansion of domestic solar and storage manufacturing.

Clean Energy Associates (CEA) has calculated the price premium that solar developers will swallow in return for the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) savings offered by the latest generation of high-efficiency PV panels.

Australian battery designer and manufacturer PowerPlus Energy will look to accelerate its growth plans after technology investment company PPK Group announced plans to acquire a large stake in the company.

Canada-headquartered Solmax will seek to build its presence in the Australian utility scale solar sector having developed a reflective membrane which it claims can increase the energy yield of a bifacial PV project by between 5% and 20%, depending on the plant configuration.

Chinese manufacturer Longi Solar is working with PV developer Invenergy to build a 5 GW per year solar module manufacturing facility in the US state of Ohio.

GoodWe will initially sell its new 375 W building-integrated PV (BIPV) modules in Australia and Europe. They measure 2,319 mm × 777 mm × 4 mm and weigh 11 kg.

With calls for a revival in European PV manufacturing becoming more urgent, the Environmental, Social, and Governance credentials of its PV producers are being touted as a way in which manufacturing can be supported or even protected. The case for the ESG credentials of European manufacturing was advanced by multiple speakers at the 2023 SolarPower Summit this week in Brussels.

TrendForce says polysilicon will be 3.2% cheaper in March than in February. This will lead to lower wafer, cell and module prices and will effectively spur installation demand.

From polysilicon to panels through recycling, how much domestic capacity does the US have?