Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

The three Chinese panel manufacturers found an agreement on the module size and the mounting hole spacing.

The Chinese manufacturer and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have improved the average cell efficiency by 0.68% through a post-cell hydrogenation process. The cell’s average open-circuit voltage increased by 7 mV from 696 to 703 mV, and the average fill factor from 82.03% to 83.07%.

Insolation Energy director Vikas Jain told pv magazine about their plans to expand solar panel manufacturing capacity to 700 MW with the addition of a 500 MW facility. The new facility would be equipped to produce poly, mono, mono PERC, and bifacial panels with individual panel output up to 600 Wp.

Developed by an Italian manufacturer, the panel is available in three versions with a power output of 100, 120, and 240 W and has a weight of 5 kg. It is encapsulated in thermoformable plastic technical polymers and can be connected in series with other modules around the same post.

Modules account for a huge percent of the project’s total cost, and since independent power providers (IPPs) have lower margins in the Indian solar energy sector, even a small increase in module pricing will put them under more strain.

The mounting structure relies on a 5.8m long support rail that does not lie on the roof but is connected directly to a purlin placed below with self-drilling support screws.

Dutch startup Solarge has developed a 500 W panel that weighs 50% less than conventional glass-backsheet modules. The new product can be fixed to rooftops with roofing anchors, which eliminates the need for ballast, according to the manufacturer.

The state-owned coal miner has invited proposals from parties willing to partner on its proposed 4 GW solar PV ingot-wafer-cell-module manufacturing facility. Applications can be submitted until September 16. 

India’s solar capacity growth up to 2030 also means the generation of a significant mass of PV module waste due to early failures or damages during transportation, installation, and operation. The waste generation could be 21 kilotonnes assuming India’s cumulative installed PV capacity grows to 287.4 GW by 2030 from 40 GW in 2020. This doesn’t include end-of-life panel waste as PV systems installed between 2020-30 are assumed to have at least 30 years of lifetime.

Switzerland-based Energy Pier has developed a new concept for hybrid-wind solar projects located along highways. The proposed solution combines a rooftop PV system with small scale wind generators that are installed on both sides of the supporting pillars of the system.