Australia must build out its solar supply chain, from silicon production to end-of-life processes, and reduce its reliance on imported cells and modules if it is to achieve its potential as a global PV superpower.
With the US Department of Commerce finding that solar manufacturers in Southeast Asia are circumventing duties on Chinese PV cells, questions have been raised over potential legal challenges that lie ahead and whether American project developers will be able to secure enough modules to meet soaring demand.
Just one week after revealing plans for an RMB10.2 billion (US$1.42 billion) integrated PV manufacturing project, JA Solar has announced it will also expand its current integrated capacity.
Europe will benefit from a new research and innovation (R&I) project intended to advance the continent’s tandem solar PV cell manufacturing and production capabilities, focusing on tandem silicon-perovskite cells.
Qcells has its eye on the US with several recently announced plans for large investments in manufacturing, but it is also rebranding away from pure module manufacturing to also offer holistic home energy solutions with a push in the UK market.
The solar PV industry is forecast to produce 310GW of modules in 2022, representing an incredible 45% year-on-year increase compared to 2021, according to the latest research undertaken by the PV Tech market research team and outlined in the new PV Manufacturing & Technology Quarterly report.
