Europe

TW Solar’s Terra range of shingled PV modules aims to provide end users with a sustainable solution that combines reduced risk of micro-cracks with excellent performance in harsh conditions. 

French startup Holosolis, founded by innovation group EIT InnoEnergy, has planned to build a 5GW solar module assembly plant in France.

Fraunhofer ISE has announced a new international test standard for PV inverters with integrated arc fault detection systems.

Combining solar plants with agriculture is becoming more prevalent in markets globally, increasing the availability of sites for new PV projects while reducing land-use conflicts. Will Norman details how the industry can take advantage of agrivoltaic opportunities while navigating construction, operation and maintenance challenges.

Fraunhofer ISE has opened a new outdoor solar technology test field in Germany, enabling a faster and more accurate evaluation of PV modules. 

Solar project developer and asset owner Photon Energy Group has posted a decreased EBITDA although recording an all-time revenue for the first quarter of a year in Q1 2023.

Thin-film module manufacturer First Solar has acquired thin-film company Evolar to grow its PV capabilities.

Industrial group Baywa recorded €1.5 billion (US$1.63 billion) in revenues from its renewable energy business in Q1 2023, just under a 25% of the group’s total quarterly revenue of €6.3 billion (US$6.8 billion).

Solar module supplier Maxeon has started evaluating the possibility of expanding its manufacturing capacity in the US with a cell and module assembly plant.

Falling solar module prices in recent years mean it can be beneficial to oversize the DC capacity in PV plants. John Leslie of BTY presents findings from a study that suggests developers should, in certain cases, investigate using higher DC/AC ratio designs.