The US subsidiary of Enel Green Power has teamed with start-up Raptor Maps, Inc., to integrate the use of drones in inspecting PV power plants, while providing immediate data through an AI (artificial intelligence) machine learning algorithm to improve O&M (Operations and Management).
Heading into the PV ModuleTech 2018 event in Penang, Malaysia on 23-24 October 2018, PV-Tech is set to conduct a series of interviews with leading project developers and EPCs, to understand what downstream channels of the utility-scale PV segment are looking for, when choosing PV module suppliers and their respective module technology offerings.
PV inverter manufacturer KACO new energy said it has supplied its string inverters to a 10.2MW solar carport in Turkey as part of a new amusement park near completion in Ankara, Turkey.
In reporting second quarter 2018 financial results, First Solar revealed that it was having Series 6 production issues at its lead Ohio factory.
Leading CdTe thin-film module manufacturer First Solar has started production of its large-area Series 6 modules at its first manufacturing plant in Malaysia and said it was nearing the start of production at a third facility as new orders in the second quarter almost reached 900MW.
As the solar industry has grown from a 50GW market to 100GW in just a few years, the desire to have differentiated production has increased, especially for companies entering the market or repositioning strategies.
Leading PV manufacturing equipment supplier Meyer Burger has secured an order for its ‘SmartWire Connection Technology’ (SWCT) from an international solar module manufacturer in Southeast Asia for use with heterojunction (HJ) solar cells.
Australian-based PV asset owner of New Energy Solar (NEW) has acquired an 87MW (AC) PV power plant, currently under development from leading CdTe thin-film module manufacturer, First Solar.
Nanoelectronics R&D organisation imec has reported a record 4-terminal Perovskite/silicon tandem photovoltaic cell with a conversion efficiency of 27.1%, while claiming further microcrystal engineering leads a path of efficiencies of over 30%.
As module suppliers adapt to the slowdown of Chinese module demand in 2018 and 2019, global EPCs and developers are likely to see new Asian-produced panels being offered for both rooftop and ground-mount installations.
Since Chinese investments into major cell and module facilities started - more than 10 years ago - success ultimately has been driven by overseas market-share gains, above other technical or financial benchmarks that otherwise would be expected.
German CdTe thin-film module manufacturer Calyxo will resume production after finding a buyer for the business.
India’s Ministry of new and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued guidelines on how to conduct testing on solar PV modules in test labs.
The US Naval Research Laboratory selected Alta Devices, as the solar solution for the prototype Hybrid Tiger UAV, Edgar A. Gunter explores the results and the implications for the thin-film market.
German-based laser systems specialist LPKF Laser & Electronics has secured new follow-on orders from a thin-film PV module manufacturer.
