Current testing for solar modules is inadequate to account for the rising severity of extreme weather events in North America, according to a report from renewable energy project underwriter GCube Insurance.
Heterojunction (HJT) equipment manufacturer Maxwell Technologies and Australian solar technology start-up SunDrive have laid claim to a breakthrough in mass production HJT technology after recording a conversion efficiency of 26.07% with a commercial-size solar PV cell.
PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) has launched a crowdsourced testing programme that will work with solar investors, developers and asset owners to test inverters and does not require manufacturer participation.
Less rigidity during wind speeds and greater susceptibility to cracks under load pressures have been found within oversized solar modules during a new study.
Certification company Applus+ has completed its acquisition of Enertis, a Spain-based engineering, consulting and inspection services provider focused on the solar PV sector.
VDE has acquired a 70% stake in certification and testing company Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC), strengthening the technical organisation’s position in the renewables sector.
Despite the importance of reliability to the cost competitiveness of PV, large data sets enabling high-level investigation of the technology’s performance in the field are relatively scarce. Dirk C. Jordan, Chris Deline, Bill Marion and Teresa Barnes of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Mark Bolinger of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study a unique data set of 100,000 PV systems in the US, drawing out tips for better reliability that have relevance to other parts of the world.
