Canadian Solar plans to ramp up production capacity
Having warned of in-house solar wafer and cell capacity as recently as the third quarter of 2021, the company has announced it will be adding even more production lines this year.
Upcycling silicon waste from end-of-life solar panels into thermoelectrics
Researchers in Singapore have developed a new technique in which polycrystalline silicon is pulverised into powder and pelletised into ingots. The process relies on spark plasma sintering to dope the silicon with germanium and phosphorus.
Sungrow’s new battery to be deployed in 16 mid-scale Victorian solar farms from Lavo
Chinese inverter brand Sungrow has signed a 79 MW inverter and 176 MWh battery energy storage contract with Sydney-based hydrogen battery company Lavo. The contract will see Sungrow add its storage solution to 16 mid-scale solar farms in Victoria.
China’s cumulative PV capacity tops 322 GW
In other news, Zhonghuan Semiconductor announced it will begin selling 210 mm n-type wafers and the local government in Zhejiang Province said it wants to deploy another 12.4 GW of new PV by 2024.
Weekend read: Making tandem cells stack up
Perovskite tandem technology is shaping as the route to PV cell efficiencies well beyond 27%. But building the tandem stack in a way that can be scaled into gigawatt production is not a trivial challenge, says Sebastian Gatz, VP photovoltaics for German equipment supplier Von Ardenne.
Consumer watchdog sounds warning for LG-branded home batteries
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a call for homeowners to urgently check their residential energy storage systems amid a national recall of some LG-branded batteries which may overheat and ignite.
Amazon invests in novel solar cell production facility
Ambient Photonics will build a fully automated manufacturing facility to produce solar cells for powering consumer electronics.
German giant opens base in Perth to capitalise on green hydrogen promise
The hydrogen electrolyser subsidiary of German giant Thyssenkrupp has opened a new office in Perth, Western Australia in a bid to capture some of the region’s green hydrogen frenzy.
Smarter E products at a glance
pv magazine summarises the products we covered at the recent Smarter E exhibition, in the first of a series of reports on all of the new releases from the annual trade fair in Munich, Germany.
Hanwha Q Cells to build US solar module factory, expand cell capacity in South Korea
Hanwha Q Cells plans to build a 1.4 GW solar panel factory at an undisclosed location in the United States. It has also announced plans to expand its cell capacity to 5.4 GW in South Korea. CEO Justin Lee spoke to reporters at the Smarter E event about the company’s plans and current supply chain issues.
