PV ModuleTech 2018

Ahead of PV ModuleTech conference, Finlay Colville takes an in-depth look at the type of module companies that will be internationally known over the next 12-18 months.

Heading into the PV ModuleTech 2018 event in Penang, Malaysia on 23-24 October 2018, PV-Tech is set to conduct a series of interviews with leading project developers and EPCs, to understand what downstream channels of the utility-scale PV segment are looking for, when choosing PV module suppliers and their respective module technology offerings.

As the solar industry has grown from a 50GW market to 100GW in just a few years, the desire to have differentiated production has increased, especially for companies entering the market or repositioning strategies.

As module suppliers adapt to the slowdown of Chinese module demand in 2018 and 2019, global EPCs and developers are likely to see new Asian-produced panels being offered for both rooftop and ground-mount installations.

Since Chinese investments into major cell and module facilities started - more than 10 years ago - success ultimately has been driven by overseas market-share gains, above other technical or financial benchmarks that otherwise would be expected.

Module selection for utility-scale solar sites in 2019 is likely to see the widespread availability of higher performance products with average selling prices significantly lower than witnessed over the past 12-18 months. So what does this mean for EPCs and developers? Finlay Colville reveals all.

PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the first quarter of 2018 continued to follow the strong trend set in the fourth quarter of 2017. The quarter also represented a revival in thin-film expansion plans as well as the return of PV module assembly outpacing solar cell announcements. Also notable was the return of India and the US as major destinations for new capacity plans.

The past few weeks has seen some of the most dramatic knee-jerk, naïve and misinformed PV market reporting seen in recent times, with the headlines often resembling nothing more than tabloid sensationalism.

PV CellTech 2018 saw Chief Technology Officers and senior executives from the world's top solar cell manufacturers and equipment suppliers give key indications of which cell technologies will be driving the industry in the coming years.

The evolution of metallization paste and its impact on cell technology development was a key topic at PV CellTech 2018. During the conference, we caught up with Guangyao Jin, chief scientist, DuPont Solamet photovoltaic metallization pastes, to discuss industry trends.

Enhancing quality control in PV cell production was a key topic at PV CellTech 2018. After the conference, we caught up with Gordon Deans, founder and chief operating officer of inline solar cell measurement equipment specialist Aurora Solar Technologies to discuss some of the requirements when moving towards smart factories.

Driving p- and n-type solar cell manufacturing beyond current limitations was a key topic at PV CellTech last week. We caught up with the CTO of leading PV equipment supplier Meyer Burger, Dr. Gunter Erfurt, during the conference, to discuss just how fast the industry is moving.

Having just reached the 100GW annual capacity level, the solar manufacturing industry must hit another 100GW within three years to meet demand, according to prominent industry figure Pierre Verlinden, who was former chief scientist of major PV manufacturer Trina Solar.

Ahead of the company’s forthcoming talk at the PV CellTech 2018 meeting in Penang, Malaysia on 13-14 March 2018, PV Tech met with Omid Shojaei, the CEO of heterojunction production equipment supplier INDEOtec, to get his thoughts on the new investments and expansions being applied to n-type heterojunction concepts.

Russia-based integrated PV manufacturer Hevel Group, which has switched production from amorphous silicon thin-film technology to silicon heterojunction (HJ) has said it has been successful in ramping to its 160MW nameplate capacity and achieving cell conversion efficiencies of 22.8%.

Inline solar cell measurement equipment specialist Aurora Solar Technologies (AST) said it was developing its technology to support heterojunction (HJ) solar cell development and Industry 4.0 initiatives in China for next-generation advanced solar manufacturing plants.

Leading fully-integrated high-efficiency monocrystalline module manufacturer and ‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Green Energy Technology has set a strategic plan to triple monocrystalline ingot and wafer capacity to 45GW in 2020.

The third annual PV CellTech conference takes place in Penang, Malaysia on 13-14 March 2018, and this year’s event has been structured to explain exactly what is happening with the multi-GW expansion plans for high-efficiency cell concepts, across the industry’s established producers and the wave of new entrants that are seeking to influence cell availability in 2018 and beyond.

Efficiency gains and productivity improvements are set to dominate the PV manufacturing landscape again in 2018, with strong investments continuing to flow into existing and new cell architectures, with gigawatt-level status now becoming the norm for the manufacturing segment, writes Finlay Colville.