Once upon a time, it was relatively easy to verify a PV module manufacturer’s shipment claims and therefore any market share gains or shipment milestone claims as the majority of leading companies were public listed entities.
China-based PV module manufacturer Sunport Power has officially started production at 1GW assembly plant using Eurotron’s MWT equipment for back-contact PV modules that reduce cell-to-module losses and boost module performance and reliability.
US-headquartered Hybrid Cell Technology (HCT) module producer Sunpreme has signed a Master Supply Agreement (MSA) with True Green Capital Management for Commercial & Industrial (C&I) PV Projects in the US, totalling 150MW, over a three year term.
Major metallisation paste producer Heraeus Photovoltaics is collaborating with PV ribbon product provider Ulbrich of Austria to develop products for PV module assembly and packaging technology.
Updated: With the solar industry transitioning to high-performance products backed with innovation, Solar Power International 2017 in Las Vegas is showcasing an ever increasing portfolio of solar modules exceeding 300 watts in the standard 60-cell format. However, 72-cell modules exceeding 360 watts are also entering the mainstream and 400 watts is just around the corner.
Driving the high-performance wave is PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell), bifacial and the migration to 5 busbars and beyond, whether with multicrystalline or monocrystalline wafers. The growing use of half-cut and multi-cut cells that reduce cell to module losses, boosting overall performance are also becoming mainstream as well as heterojunction (HJ) modules.
JinkoSolar subsidiary JinkoSolar Canada will supply approximately 17MW of its mono PERC solar modules to a PV project in Brooks, Alberta, Canada, owned by Vancouver-based renewable energy developer, investor, and operator, Elemental Energy.
The European Commission has approved replacing the current Minimum Import Price (MIP) for module imports from China with a new reduced price on a sliding scale mechanism, despite receiving almost negligible support from member states.
With several MENA region countries expected to become gigawatt solar markets in 2018 and beyond, global certification organization UL has teamed with Saudi Arabian-based government body, GCC Laboratories to provide a suite of services to the downstream PV project sector.
