World

After years of improving quality standards, solar cell cracking appears to be on the rise again, perhaps due to new manufacturers entering the sector. Clean Energy Associates’ (CEA) senior engineering manager Claire Kearns-McCoy considers ways to stop the rot.

Scientists conducting a five-year research project in the United States have observed a tripling of insect numbers near two solar facilities built on rehabilitated agricultural land. They say the findings show how habitat-friendly solar could help protect insect populations and improve pollination in nearby agricultural fields.

PV funding activity increased by 42% year-on-year in 2023, driven by strong growth in private market financing and debt financing, despite a decrease in the total number of deals, according to United States-headquartered consultancy Mercom Capital Group.

The shift from positively doped, “p-type” to negatively doped, “n-type” solar technology has sparked manufacturing expansion, says S&P Global’s Jessica Jin.

Heterojunction cell and panel manufacturer Meyer Burger says it will stop making PV modules in Germany, but it will continue to produce solar cells in the country to support its panel production operations in the United States.

The International Energy Agency has forecast the rollout of rooftop solar in Australia will drop off “faster than anticipated” with increasing grid integration challenges and saturation of the power system contributing to a revision of expectations for renewable energy growth in the country.

With global irradiance above average in Australia, Southeast Asia and Europe, and stable in the United States, solar data provider Solargis says stakeholders should focus on the stability of power grids, while navigating solar financing complexities in developing economies and supply chain capacities in 2024.

The company released an application programming interface to enable third-party developers to interact with Tesla home energy products.

More than 200 entries from across 39 countries made up the field for the pv magazine Awards 2023 and there was genuine innovation on display in all categories. Significant demands have been placed on the solar and energy storage industries in 2023, but that hasn’t stopped the sector from making great leaps in performance. The winners of the pv magazine Awards 2023 serve as shining examples of what can be achieved through a continuous improvement philosophy.

Solar module size standardisation will enhance supply chain efficiencies, boost production, and lower costs, according to the 700W+ Photovoltaic Open Innovation Ecological Alliance, thus accelerating the industrialisation of 700 W or greater modules.