China

On the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflict and allegations of forced labour in sectors critical to the renewable energy transition, awareness of supply chain insecurity has rarely been higher. Seeking to strike while the iron is hot, the Clean Energy Council and law firm Norton Rose Fulbright have published a white paper arguing that Australia’s own renewable energy supply chains could “benefit significantly” by a more concerted effort to address modern slavery.

Electric vehicle and stationary energy storage companies have experienced battery cell shortages this year. InfoLink predicts overcapacity in 2024, but the concentration of production in China means customers elsewhere are mulling deals with miners.

PV InfoLink says polysilicon prices are clearly starting to fall. Meanwhile, Longi has lowered the prices of all wafers, and JA Solar has unveiled plans to build a new 10 GW factory.

Risen and Longi have revealed plans to each build 10 GW factories, while Canadian Solar has reported solid earnings and Daqo has secured a big polysilicon order.

Sunova Solar is offering five versions of its new solar panels, with power outputs from 555 W to 575 W and efficiencies ranging from 21.4% to 22.2%. They have a temperature coefficient of -0.31% per degree Celsius.

Chinese solar manufacturing giant Longi has announced the achievement of a world record 26.81% conversion efficiency from a cell utilising heterojunction technology on full-size silicon wafers in mass production. The company said the measurement has been validated by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research.

As Longi and other solar manufacturers kick off massive growth in hydrogen generation capacity, expect large price decreases resulting from steep learning curves, echoing the rapid advances experienced by the solar power industry since the 1970s.

Australia features prominently in the top 10 but the latest edition of Ernst & Young’s renewables attractiveness index rates India as the top market for solar investment while Spain, Germany and the United States are the top three markets for corporate power purchase agreements.

China manufacturer DAH Solar offers four versions of its new panels, with power outputs ranging from 540 W to 555 W and efficiency ratings from 20.89% to 21.48%. The modules are reportedly ideal for steel rooftops with small installation angles.

Panel shipments collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars are blocked from entering the United States market as they have failed scrutiny under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, said Reuters.