The ‘Retrofit AR’ coating, an offspring of DSM’s industry-leading anti-reflective (AR) coatings, gives older, uncoated solar modules an instant energy boost of up to 3%, according to lab and field tests. For power plants built before 2012, it is an especially attractive way to increase yield while keeping feed-in tariffs high and boosting internal rate of return (IRR), compared to panel replacement programs.
Market research firm IHS Markit believes the PV inverter replacement market will increase by around 40% in 2020, creating an 8.7GW need outside new global installations.
Taiwan has extended PV power project completion dates on component shortages caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in China, while India is expected to advise policy changes soon.
Exports of solar products from China in January 2020 were around 35% lower than in the prior year period, according to an accumulation of official export data, recently released.
The new Q1 2020 bankability analysis has now been completed by the PV-Tech market research team, ranking PV module suppliers within the PV ModuleTech Bankability Ratings. The listing reveals that LONGi Solar now commands AAA-Rated status, the highest grade achievable. A further seven module suppliers are in the AA and A bands and four suppliers fall into the B levels.
Army picks developer Photosol to roll out 547,000 PV panels for project north of Paris, marking new chapter for base Luftwaffe air raids were planned from.
Hiring of French firm by Swiss investor Smartenergy will pave way for construction of three PV plants in Southern European hotspot, set to launch new PV-only auction next month.
Construction is already underway for 120MW project near Wandoan, marking utility-scale global debut for oil and gas major already active in the country after M&A flurry last year.
