Just after analysts had said India’s solar quality control standards lacked clarity and investment in testing labs, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has brought forward the enforcement date in an attempt to ensure that quality control benefits the industry as soon as possible.
Leading ‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member JinkoSolar has guided module shipments to be in the range of 11.5GW to 12GW for 2018, after reporting record 2017 shipments of 9.8GW.
Major PV module materials and N-type mono IBC (Interdigitated Back Contact) bifacial module manufacturer Jolywood has signed a partnership agreement with Adelaide-headquartered solar company Golden Invest to develop 100MW of PV projects in Australia using N-type bifacial solar cells.
As previously reported there was a significant slowdown in global solar PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the third quarter of 2017, which we highlighted was hardly surprising due to significant level of expansions plans announced in the first half of the year. However, despite increased concerns over the potential imposition of restrictive trade practices in the US and India in the fourth quarter of 2017, there was a significant rebound over the previous quarter, leading to the highest recorded gigawatts of new expansion announcements.
Driving p- and n-type solar cell manufacturing beyond current limitations was a key topic at PV CellTech last week. We caught up with the CTO of leading PV equipment supplier Meyer Burger, Dr. Gunter Erfurt, during the conference, to discuss just how fast the industry is moving.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Canadian Solar has lowered nameplate capacity expansion plans in 2018 for both in-house solar cell production and module assembly as total module shipment guidance for 2018, indicates marginal growth.
Enel’s PV module manufacturing subsidiary, 3SUN has outlined its ‘2.0 innovation project,’ which includes the installation of a new assembly line to enable the manufacture of bifacial panels.
Indian PV module manufacturer Waaree Energies has launched a do-It-yourself rooftop solar kit, aiming to reduce the time and manpower needed for standard installations.
