Perovskite solar cell developer Oxford Photovoltaics said it was working with scientists at the new Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) innovation lab to further the optimisation of its perovskite cell materials for silicon heterojunction solar cell technology.
A preliminary recommendation from India’s Directorate General of Safeguards Customs and Central Excise to impose a provisional 70% safeguard duty on solar cells imported from China and Malaysia has been branded as “ridiculous” and potentially catastrophic, by PV industry members involved in finance, project development and analysis.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member GCL System Integrated Technology (GCL-SI) has appointed a new chairman and chief executive officer as Zhu Gongshan, the majority shareholder with the GCL group steps down from the post of chairman of the board.
Major China-based PV module manufacturer Risen Energy has recently signed a framework agreement to build and operate a 5GW monocrystalline cell and module plant in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China.
China-based merchant solar cell producer Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd (Aiko Solar) said it had achieved a production capacity of 4GW for PERC solar cells, while initially ramping its new production plant on schedule near Yiwu City, central Zhejiang province, China at the end of 2017.
India’s 100GW solar target is under threat from remedial action against imports of solar modules, unless a range of recommended solutions are considered, according to a letter from the Indian Solar Association to the Finance Ministry.
Solar PV capital expenditure (capex) covering the midstream segments of the industry (c-Si ingot-to-module and thin-film) is now well into its second major upturn in spending, going into 2018, at a time when the industry is just about to move to a new phase in annual deployment levels of greater than 100GW.
The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is proposing the standardization of aging measurements of perovskite solar cells after developing a range of new methods that are claimed to best represent some of the unique characteristics of perovskite materials.
The US could bring back its World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute with India, after reports suggested the US believes the South Asian country has failed to comply with a 2016 ruling on its solar policies.
Efficiency gains and productivity improvements are set to dominate the PV manufacturing landscape again in 2018, with strong investments continuing to flow into existing and new cell architectures, with gigawatt-level status now becoming the norm for the manufacturing segment, writes Finlay Colville.
