After several years of technological developments, measurement and quality standard specifications, and bifaciality implementations in energy yield simulation programs, bifacial PV has become reliable and will shortly become accepted as a valuable commodity. Since 2020, bifacial passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) technology has been king of the energy markets, and, in combination with simple tracking systems (e.g. horizontal single-axis tracking – HSAT), the lowest electricity costs have been achieved. Because PERC is reaching its limit in terms of efficiency, and n-type technology is gaining momentum, in the future n-type PV (nPV) will replace PERC technology as the workhorse of the PV electricity market. This paper describes why, and most likely when, this will happen and which n-type technologies will be leading the pack in the race to bring electricity costs well below €0.01/kWh.
As the PV industry rapidly advances towards annual PV production and installations on a terawatt scale, many aspects that are currently not critical will need to be considered. Among these, material availability is probably one of the most pressing ones. Established production routines will need to be changed, which may pose significant time constraints in the light of the fast-growing market. The focus of this paper will be on the use of silver for solar cell metallization. Past developments are discussed and an overview is given of the fast-growing number of relevant publications from the scientific community that deal with the problems associated with silver.
This paper reviews the steps to making a breakthrough in TOPCon efficiency, from cell to PV module, by using industrially viable manufacturing processes. A detailed characterization and investigation of the primary losses of JinkoSolar’s TOPCon record cell of July 2020, with an efficiency of 24.8%, is presented.
This paper gives an overview of the technological maturity of various TOPCon approaches with the goal of achieving the most cost-effective, resource-conserving and mass-production-capable implementation.
In this paper, all the steps in Kalyon PV’s vertical production are described, and a cost of ownership (COO) analysis is performed for passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) and advanced cell concepts.
After years of protracted disputes and business uncertainty, the US solar industry will soon find out the precise terms of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and its implications for the supply of solar products to the country.
In the midst of an energy crisis, both generators and offtakers are considering their next moves. Sean Rai-Roche speaks with analysts and experts across the continent to decipher what is expected to happen to prices and what that means for companies’ operations.
Neocolonialism in the energy sector is holding Africa back from its net zero goals, while enriching and securing other nations' clean energy future, writes Sean Rai-Roche
