Laser micromachining specialist 3D-Micromac said it was supplying Hanwha Q CELLS solar cell plant in Qidong, Jiangsu-province, China with its microCELL OTF laser system for its recently announced transition from Al-BSF (Aluminium Back Surface Field) to PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology.
GTM Research’s latest ‘Global Solar Demand Monitor’ report has highlighted that 13 countries by the end of 2018 would exceed the 1-gigawatt level of annual PV installations, up from eight in 2017.
France has surpassed 7.7GW of solar installations, Northern Ireland’s largest PV plant has been sold to Greencoat, India’s 1st solar carport to be installed on a rooftop has been completed by Tata Power Solar.
The conflict of agricultural land use for solar power plants could be a thing of the past after a science driven agrophotovoltaics (APV) pilot project near Lake Constance in Germany, led by Fraunhofer ISE has proved the viability of dual land use.
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.
An investigation by China’s Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM) on polysilicon dumping by South Korean producers has resulted in only small tariff increases for the largest importers.
Major PV inverter manufacturer SMA Solar Technology has secured supply deals for more than 20 different utility-scale PV projects in Australia in 2017, totalling around 1.2GW and included for several large-scale PV projects funded by the Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
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.
Inline solar cell measurement equipment specialist Aurora Solar Technologies (AST) has reported its first period of profitability as demand for process control tools for PERC and bifacial cells grows.
