Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

US analyst Clean Energy Associates made some notable predictions in its Q4 survey of the world solar manufacturing market, including echoing predictions made elsewhere that the new polysilicon production capacity coming online now will help arrest the spike in solar panel prices.

The merits of pre-assembled and modular solar solutions have been showcased by independent power provider Nomadic Energy which this week revealed it had taken less than 21 days to complete a 2MW install at Northern Star Resources’ Carosue Dam gold mining operation near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

Fortescue Future Industries says the first electrolysers to be manufactured at the facility, early next year, are earmarked for use in Queensland at FFI’s planned green-hydrogen-to-ammonia project on Gibson Island.

Origin Energy has announced plans for a potential Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub underpinned by a deal it’s made with mining and infrastructure company Orica.

A new report by JMK Research and IEEFA says Indian solar manufacturers need to create a strong foundation for sustainable development overall by integrating raw materials and impetus to R&D in their plans, rather than focusing solely on output.

Scientists in Australia have developed an optimisation framework for building-integrated photovoltaics that allows the selection of design variables according to user preferences. Their model considers PV-related features such as tilt angle, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), PV placement, and PV product type, as well as objective functions and constraints such as the net present value and the payback period.

Two industry experts have provided analyses of the current polysilicon price scenario in a chat with pv magazine and both agreed that polysilicon demand is still growing faster than supply. The price may decrease starting from the second quarter and reach more reasonable levels by the end of the year.

Adani Group and the Canada-based PEM fuel cell producer will examine various options to cooperate, including potential collaboration for hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing in India.

South Korean solar module maker LG Electronics has announced it will shut down its solar panel manufacturing business by the end of June, citing uncertainties in the global solar industry for its decision.

Tindo Solar, Australia’s only solar panel manufacturer, has launched its first module designed specifically for utility-scale projects, the 545W Karra module. Australia-made, the module boasts a 23.1% cell efficiency with a low cell-to-module loss rate of 0.07%.