Everyone in the industry knows the price of solar continues to fall in most global sectors, inching closer to – or reaching – parity with other energy sources, both renewable and carbonaceous. But when a well-respected market researcher says prices are falling in real time in some regions, that attention-grabbing statement is not something one usually hears in any timeline.
The ‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) members in 2015, Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, JinkoSolar, JA Solar, Hanwha Q CELLS and Yingli Green may have the largest module shipments and manufacturing capacity significantly higher than any other c-Si manufacturer but still lag behind others when it comes to R&D spending.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing AU$17 million (US$13 million) funding for nine renewable energy research and development projects looking at energy storage and solar PV among other technologies.
A global coalition aimed at driving investment in clean energy R&D looks set to be finalised by the middle of this year, the UK’s special envoy on climate change has said.
Certain "deep-level" defects in silicon solar cells appear to improve their performance, according to research by scientists at the US governments National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
