According to provisional data from BloombergNEF (BNEF), global solar PV installations reached 109GW in 2018 as the cost of installing a megawatt of photovoltaic capacity fell 12%, which spurred markets outside China to increase installations.
Solar cell production in 2018 represented change on many fronts, but may be remembered as a year during which Chinese-owned companies made further strategic moves as part of the current Beijing mandate to position the country as a high-tech manufacturing global powerhouse.
PV research institute Fraunhofer ISE has reported a new efficiency record of 22.3% for a multi-junction solar cell made of silicon and III-V semiconductor materials using a direct epitaxy process developed with tool supplier AIXTRON.
Having acquired PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) in early 2014 by DNV GL the lab has become a separate legal entity again under the ownership of PVEL’s former founder, Jenya Meydbray.
Sweden-based flexible CIGS thin-film solar cell equipment supplier Midsummer has recently said it had secured a U$7 million order from US start-up, Sunflare, which has developed a new solar roof tile system that was displayed at SPI 2018.
European solar industry trade body SolarPower Europe has said it has started a major campaign to bring back at least 5GW of large-scale PV manufacturing in the region, including the complete supply chain required to support the scheme.
The solar industry gets to grips with the bewildering array of new module technologies at the second edition of the PV ModuleTech event in Penang, Malaysia. The conference raised a huge number of questions such as how to evaluate bifacial technology and whether it might rise faster than predicted, how long p-type multicrystalline has left in the running and the perennial issue of quality, to name a few.
PV Tech caught up with Lou Trippel, vice president of Product Management at US-based thin-film solar manufacturer and developer First Solar, to discuss how the company’s new Series 6 module has been received, sustainability gains from the transition and even the firm’s consideration of recycling capabilities beyond its thin-film remit.
By adopting and modifying technology initially developed by NASA, SunSniffer is able to provide STC (Standard Test Conditions) values of each individual module, on a constant basis during pv power plant operation. This unique technology has been developed with the German Aerospace Center, which consists of software managing Big Data with artificial intelligence and high-precision measuring hardware.
Leading CdTe thin-film module manufacturer First Solar is building a 58MW (AC) PV power plant using its next-generation large-area Series 6 modules and single-axis trackers for Facebook’s Prineville Data Center located in Oregon.
