The movement to 6-busbar module architectures and the emergence of multi-wire technology were key topics at PV ModuleTech 2017. PV Tech caught up with Franck Genonceau, business manager PV portfolio, at leading PV manufacturing equipment supplier Meyer Burger, to look at what to expect in the next wave of mainstream module technologies.
The Ministry of Power in the Indian state of Kerala has directed the state utility to provide training on grid-connected solar rooftop systems to its field-level employees, in what has been claimed to be a first in India. Meanwhile, a 200MW solar park has also been downgraded to 50MW.
Many developers with solar assets in India are looking to sell their portfolios. Some of them have been in the market for a long time and are under pressure from their investors to find an exit, according to the head of consultancy firm Bridge to India.
US-based PV installer RGS Energy (RGSE) has increased its cash burn and pushed-out its expected return to break-even revenue from the first to the second quarter of 2018, as it spends on expanding its sales force and builds PV module inventory ahead of the final determination on the US ITC Section 201 trade case.
Outsourcing in the various stages running up to module assembly versus having one’s entire supply chain in house was a major theme at PV ModuleTech 2017. PV Tech caught up with Nick Strevel, director, global technical sales, at vertically-integrated thin-film PV manufacturer First Solar, to discuss the benefits of having all in house production and the drivers for high expenditure in R&D.
PV consultancy the Photovoltaik-Institut Berlin (PI Berlin) has formed a subsidiary based in Delhi, India, due to a high demand for laboratory testing and quality assurance in solar projects and equipment.
Vietnamese renewable energy firm SolarBK has received a licence from the People's Committee of Da Nang City, Vietnam, for a 4.4MW solar PV project, which it claimed will be the first such plant set to be entirely implemented by Vietnamese engineers.
Taiwan’s leading conductive paste manufacturer Giga Solar Materials Corporation has agreed to pay patent licensing fees to rival, DuPont Photovoltaics.
