Helena Li, president of Trina Solar’s global cell and module business, spoke to pv magazine at the recent SNEC trade show in Shanghai about the PV industry’s oversupply challenge. Li said the company is considering opening a factory in Europe and expressed optimism about future cost and price declines.

The new manufacturing facility is located in Thai Binh and will produce modules mainly for the US market. It currently has a capacity of 500 MW and is expected to reach 3 GW within 12 months

Jordanian researchers have developed a method using acrylic sheets to reflect and absorb unused solar radiation in PV power generation. The solution has the potential to decrease solar panel temperature by more than 14% and increase power yields by approximately 2%.

A research group in Ghana has conducted a series of tests to assess the performance of polycrystalline solar modules in PV systems operating in their home country for at least 5 years. They found that the vast majority of the panels may ‘fail’ before 20 years in operation under outdoor conditions.

An Italian research group has assessed the advantages of combining solar power generation in greenhouses with vertical farming. The scientists claim this new approach offers better land use while increasing agricultural yield.

DEWA said it will announce the preferred bidder for the 1,800 MW 6th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in the third quarter of this year.

A research group from Ireland developed a PVT system consisting of a 170 W photovoltaic panel connected to a water tank placed at the backside of the PV module itself. The PVT module is able to considerably reduce the temperature of the PV unit while producing hot water for residential use.

A British research team has investigated the technical feasibility of an air conditioning unit powered exclusively by solar-plus-storage and has found that two 130 Ah batteries charged by two 400 W solar panels are capable of supporting the system during the night.

Scientists in the United Kingdom have proposed using orbiting solar reflectors to enhance the electricity yield of terrestrial solar power plants. They claim this new technology may be particularly beneficial for improving generation at dusk and dawn, when irradiance is lower.

The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) has confirmed the results of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s (KAUST) new perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell. The 1 cm2 device also achieved an open-circuit voltage of 1.974 V, a short-circuit current density of 20.99 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 81.3%.