PSE has introduced its new mechanical load test stand for the more realistic and comprehensive determination of mechanical stress from wind and snow loads.
Increasing panel efficiencies and power ratings represents a key deliverable from the PV industry today. These requirements are not simply long-term objectives for the industry as a whole: they are essential at the company level to differentiate leading suppliers within an overcrowded and highly competitive manufacturing environment.
Efficiency enhancements typically require changes in manufacturing process flow and materials (raw and consumable) used in production. Ideally, the technologies that drive these changes will be those featured within a technology roadmap.
Vitronic’s VINSPECsolar electroluminescence inspection system is designed to detect defects within solar cells that could influence electrical performance of the solar module. By using electroluminescence inspection, all defect areas are automatically detected, displayed and classified by relevant software before lamination, so that reworking can increase the module's efficiency. Archived electroluminescence images of the finished module also serve as proof of the delivered quality.
GT Advanced Technologies has announced the commercial availability of its DSS 450 MonoCast crystal growth system. Modules produced from material grown in the furnace are claimed to rival modules that incorporate traditional boron-doped batch CZ monocrystalline wafers in terms of total output. The DSS450 MonoCast furnace incorporates a number of new features that result in ?80% mono volume yield per slabbed ingot and significantly increases Grade I wafers (>90% mono area/wafer) per ingot than other cast mono technologies.
Stäubli Robotics has launched the TP80 fast Picker, an ultrafast four-axis new technology of high-speed pickers for standard pick & place applications, delivering speeds of more than 200 picks per minute and more flexibility at a lower cost, according to the company.
Munich Re has launched a new insurance product that insures against the risk of PV manufacturers' insolvency. It covers the risk borne by commercial and utility-scale PV power plant operators that solar module output may, in the course of time, fall below the level guaranteed by a manufacturer which can no longer be held liable under its warranties due to insolvency.
Not withstanding the tumultuous year for solar cell and thin-film manufacturers, the top-10 rankings for 2011 saw only a few changes in position from 12 months ago. Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers maintained their prominence, securing 8 of the top-10 positions. But the number-one position in 2011 goes to First Solar, the only thin-film manufacturer on the list.
The simple answer is yes. Certainly enough modules and inverters were sold, and if installations really did hit 7.5GW in Germany then this would undoubtedly mean that at least 26GW was installed globally last year, with Germany retaining its position as the largest market, followed closely by Italy. We’re still finalising our data for 2011, but we now estimate up to 26.5GW could have been installed last year following the phenomenal year-end rally in Germany. This would have meant an incredible 10 GW was installed in the last quarter of the year – the first time this has ever happened and more than the whole amount installed in all of 2009!
GreenPeak Technologies, a fabless semiconductor company, has introduced a wireless monitoring and control system solution for solar panel installations that will allow individual panel parameter tracking and control.
News that Norsk Hydro has sold its stake in CIGS thin-film wannabe, Ascent Solar, for US$4 million, to another investor, TFG Radiant Investment Group, may not help the struggling firm with sorely needed cash injections. Nevertheless, it would indicate a level of ‘trust’ in the firm to help ride out the current industry-wide challenges.
