Manufacturing

In a white paper, the three Chinese module manufacturers have reiterated the well-known refrain “bigger is not always better.” Experts from the three companies compared the BoS costs of 182mm-wafer-based modules and 210mm products, and found that the former have a slight advantage in racking, foundation, and land costs.

Saudi scientists built the cell’s electrode with a hole-transporting molecule called Br-2PACz and not with the commonly used PEDOT:PSS. It helped improve the photovoltaic cell efficiency by around 0.9%.

A €4.8 million (AU$7.5 million) EU-funded research project is aiming to develop a process that allows recovering all components of a photovoltaic module.

Since July 2020, the PV industry has been experiencing price rises, which have affected almost all the components in a solar system. As these price increases spill out into higher installation costs, we see end user prices for solar rising for the first time in 10 years, threatening the competitiveness of PV in certain markets. Vincent Shaw reports from Shanghai on solar manufacturing’s supply chain crisis.

South Korean solar module maker LG Electronics has unveiled a new range of solar panels for residential and commercial PV projects which it has described as the most reliable and efficient renewable energy solution it has yet created.

Scientists in Germany have developed a new process for deposition of silicon dioxide layers during cell production. Without the need for high pressure, flammable gases, or vacuum conditions, the process could lead to cost reductions for cell manufacturers, provided it can be developed and applied in a large-scale production setting.

Solar module manufacturer Q Cells Australia has revealed a growing number of residential customers are contemplating exiting the grid entirely as policy makers grapple with how to integrate increasing amounts of small-scale renewable energy technologies like rooftop solar PV and batteries into the electricity grid.

With the solar industry already seeing prices rise because of a shortage of panel raw material polysilicon, an explosion yesterday at the factory of a silicon metal producer in Xinjiang could have further repercussions on supply. No casualties have been reported.

Backsheet failures have plagued the industry, causing hefty financial burdens to many asset owners. DuPont has launched a product it says allows for easy repair of modules.

The new product has an efficiency of 98.8% and a European efficiency of up to 98.5%. It features 10 independent maximum power point tracking (MPPT) inputs, with MPPT voltage ranging from 180-1000 V.