Leading thin-film manufacturer First Solar highlighted at its 2017 Analyst Day event that it had recently fabricated the first functional CdTe Series 6 thin-film panel at its Perrysburg, Ohio plant, which is spearheading the transition to the larger format at all of the company’s manufacturing plants based in Malaysia and Vietnam.
Leading thin-film manufacturer First Solar said at its 2017 Analyst Day event that it was already building its second CdTe module plant in Vietnam to support the transition to its Series 6 large format panel.
Solaria Corporation’s ‘PowerVision’ series of customized architectural solar (BIPV), power generating glass solutions for building facades that can enable net zero energy or meet ‘WELL’ building standards and are eligible for ‘LEED’ points in energy efficiency saving buildings and structures. PowerVision glass can be widely used in nearly every aspect of a building envelope beyond the rooftop to generate electricity.
The thin-film photovoltaics research initiative Solliance, which is focused on the commercialisation of perovskite thin-film technology, has fabricated small cells with industrially-applicable, roll-to-roll (R2R) production processes, setting a number of new conversion efficiency records.
Specialist PV manufacturing equipment supplier Singulus Technologies has secured another order from a customer in China for its TENUIS II wet-chemical coating process tools.
Sweden-based PV manufacturer Midsummer has developed a flexible CIGS thin film solar cell process that provides a complete solution for BIPV/BAPV metal roof systems together with the Swedish Metal roofing company Clix Steel Profile AB that is certified for slopes as low as 5°.
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.
The PV ModuleTech 2017 meeting starts tomorrow (7 November 2017) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, showcasing the key module issues that will guide site design and construction for large-scale solar sites in the next 12-18 months.
US-headquartered engineering and consultancy firm Black & Veatch and engineering services, and certification testing lab, Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC) in California, said they would establish the first of its kind bifacial solar module ranking service.
