Energetica to establish gigawatt module fab in Austria
Production of high-efficiency solar PV modules in the Austrian region of Carinthia should commence as early as December 2018. Using a fully automated production line, Energetica Industries says it is well equipped for competition with Asian manufacturers.
Hanwha Q Cells reports lower revenue, swings to loss in Q2
At US$518.4 million, the quarterly turnover of the South Korean-German manufacturer was down 10.3% year-on-year, while its net result swung from a profit of $18.7 million in the second quarter of 2017, to a loss of $41.3 million in the latest quarter. Despite this, the outlook for full fiscal 2018 remains unchanged.
GIG acquires Conergy solar portfolio and team
Green Investment Group, Macquarie Capital’s global green investment platform, has announced the acquisition of a significant solar development portfolio from German-headquartered EPC Conergy. The acquisition will see 88 solar experts join the GIG team.
Imec hits 27.1% on perovskite/silicon tandem cell
Belgian research institute Imec has announced the achievement of 27.1% efficiency on a perovskite/silicon tandem cell, providing further evidence of the technology’s potential to provide a low cost efficiency boost to existing PV technology.
8 key takeaways from The Smarter E 2018
This year, The Smarter E made its debut this June 20 to 22 in Munich, Germany, bringing together existing exhibitions, Intersolar Europe and ees Europe, with two new events, Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power. This change reflects both the strong shift towards storage, and the rapidly changing face of the overall energy industry. pv magazine hit the floors, attended the conferences and held two roundtables to discover the latest trends. Read on to discover our eight key takeaways (and one new buzzword).
Global PV module prices collapse
The predicted fall in global PV module prices appears to have already begun, with PVInsights and EnergyTrend reporting average prices in the $0.27-$0.37/W range.
Falling battery costs to push solar, wind to 50% electricity generation by 2050, but electricity still failing CO₂ reduction targets – BNEF
Solar PV capacity is set to grow 17-fold, and wind six-fold, by 2050, to account for nearly half of global electricity generation, predicts BNEF, while investments will reach US$11.5 trillion. Cost reductions will drive this charge, particularly in the battery market, which will benefit from the EV manufacturing ramp up. Despite this, the electricity sector is still failing to bring CO₂ emissions down to the required levels, with its continued dependence on gas.
Momentum builds for perovskite tandems, 25%+ efficiency achieved
Researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Oxford PV have presented a new record perovskite tandem solar cell, with a 25.2% conversion efficiency, independently verified by Fraunhofer ISE. Bernd Stannowski, from HZB presented the results this week at the World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-7) in Hawaii.
Landis+Gyr and PEP buy smart meter business from Origin Energy
The newly founded joint venture raised $500 million in capital investments realize a large scale smart meter roll out in Australia. Origin Energy previously contracted Acumen for this sector. The Acumen brand will be retained and managed together with intelliHUB
A cautionary tale: Sourcing modules in a tight market
German EPC Goldbeck Solar shares the unfortunate details of a botched module supply deal with China Sunergy. To date, Goldbeck Solar claims it is yet to receive a single module and has been let badly out of pocket.
