Manufacturing

Chinese manufacturer JA Solar claims to have achieved a record 20% conversion efficiency in one of its multicrystalline PV cells.

Norway-headquartered REC Solar has unveiled a new 275W module aimed at residential and commercial rooftop installations, the ‘TwinPeak Series’.

Leading US PV installer SolarCity has broken ground on its new 1GW fab in New York State, where it will manufacture modules with Silevo, the West Coast start-up it acquired earlier this year.

PV equipment supplier centrotherm is to cut 50 jobs from its headquarters in Blaubeuren, Germany as part of a restructuring process.

Japanese module manufacturer Kyocera has joined the industrial partner programme of Belgian nanoelectronics research institute imec.

Mission Solar Energy has announced the opening of its N-Type solar manufacturing facility in Texas.

IKEA will extend its residential solar offering into eight new markets in the next 18 months following the success of the scheme in the UK.

A couple of companies have highlighted wet chemical texturing processes for PERC cells that avoids using isopropyl alcohol (IPA) that is intended to offer a low-cost alternative for high-efficiency solar cells at EU PVSEC.

Researchers at the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) in Stuttgart have achieved a 21.7% conversion rate in a CIGS thin-film cell, a new record.

The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is to apply domestic content regulations to its solar auction in November.