REC Group has introduced an all-black variant of its ‘TwinPeak 2’ Series PV module for US and European residential markets. The REC TwinPeak 2 BLK2 Series has a nominal power rating of up to 285Wp, using its half-cut cell and PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology and uniformly black-colored multicrystalline cells.
Diversified renewable energy firm Shunfeng International Clean Energy (SFCE) had previously warned that it expected to report a loss in 2016 of around US$133 million (RMB 923 million) due to a catalogue of issues but revised analysis by the company put the figure significantly higher at around US$348 million.
This week's Movers & Shakers focuses on big career moves in Germany, India and the US. SMA Americas plans a major push into the US market, the International Solar Alliance welcomes a new interim director and India's Hartek Group takes on BHEL's Jeet Chhatwal to develop innovative automated systems and procedures for day-to-day activities which further improve productivity and bring more efficiency.
Many key PV manufacturers in Taiwan are still reporting monthly sales in February, 2017 that are well below the levels set in the first half of 2016, due primarily to the expected boom in China’s downstream PV market, which has yet to take hold.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Hanwha Q CELLS is allocating only US$50 million to capital expenditures in 2017, indicating there would be no new in-house capacity expansions in 2017.
A consortium between Essel Infra, an arm of Indian conglomerate Essel group, and China’s GCL Poly Energy Holdings will start initial site development of a major solar PV manufacturing plant in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh within two months.
French waste giant Veolia has opened the first PV recycling facility in France through a partnership with PV Cycle, a not-for-profit take-back and waste management programme for solar in Europe.
In defiance of a significant trend by a growing number of leading PV manufacturers to either completely replace P-type multi c-Si cell technology with P-type mono c-Si with PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Contact) technology, or hedge their bets and do PERC on both wafer substrates, Silicon Module Super League member Canadian Solar is placing a potentially risky bet on pushing ahead with the migration to P-type multi c-Si PERC cell technology using diamond wire saw (DWS) and ‘Black Silicon’ texturing under its ‘ONYX’ cell branding.
von Ardenne’s ‘SCALA’ platform has been designed to close the gap between R&D and production of Silicon heterojunction (HJ) solar cells. The modular platform provides a pathway via a technology approach, the tuning of the PVD processing and the complementary technology steps such as texturing, PECVD and metallization processes for 22% conversion efficiencies on 6-inch substrates and thus to ease the path to commercialization.
