Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

The new panel is manufactured with M6 wafers. It features a power conversion efficiency of 20.1% and a temperature coefficient of -0.347% per degree Celsius.

A British-Egyptian research group has tested the use of hydrogels beads for PV module cooling. The micro-sized particles were saturated with aluminium oxide (Al2O3) water-based nanofluids and placed below the simulated PV panels. The experiment showed, according to the scientists, that the hydrogels beads were able to significantly reduce the temperature by between 17.9 and 16.3 degrees Celsius.

Not all rooftops can bear the weight of glass PV modules. Some others have curves and shapes ill-suited to uniform, bulky panels. Flexible modules have long been advanced as the solution here, however the keys to unlocking this potential have proven elusive.

Chris Bowen, who was appointed Labor’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy after a reshuffle in January, told pv magazine Australia he’s keen to make job creation his core focus, framing renewable investment as a Covid recovery solution rather than the end of Australia’s historic coal mining industry, which has dominated Federal narrative.

The South Korean manufacturer has brought, to Europe and Australia, its recently launched shingled PERC panel, with an output ranging from 460 to 480 W and an efficiency of up to 20.5%. The products come with a 25-year linear power output guarantee and a 25-year product guarantee.

Smart metering services provider Intellihub has outlined a series of targeted reforms – including strengthening testing requirements – in its submission to the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) review into the sector’s regulatory framework, cautioning that unless changes are made Australia risks being left behind.

The tide of clean energy facilities planned under the city’s next five-year strategy was revealed by Hong Kong-listed polysilicon maker Xinte Energy, which has signed a framework agreement to construct 200,000 tons of manufacturing capacity near Inner Mongolia’s largest city.

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.