Manufacturing

The Indian solar manufacturer and EPC contractor has chosen KSL Cleantech as the channel partner for the retail distribution of its solar panels in the eastern and northeastern markets of India.

First, the bad news: PV modules will be caught up in the global wave of inflation. After a very brief respite, prices are picking up again for almost all module technologies. But the changes recorded for early October are paltry compared to the price increases still to come, writes Martin Schachinger of pvXchange. As of the cutoff date for this market survey, some manufacturers had already announced even more significant upward corrections for future deliveries. The price adjustments shown in the October index are thus only a tentative start to rises of no less than 15-20% over the price levels that prevailed just a few weeks ago. However, this will probably be the last price correction we can expect at the manufacturer level until the end of the year.

The US-based startup, which has a battery production plant in Greater Noida, has landed a deal to supply its swappable lithium-ion battery technology to Hyderabad-based Rap Eco Motors.

The generation capacity is part of an overall 4 GW secured by the developer in a manufacturing-linked PV tender held by the national solar body.

A U.K. research group is developing an anti-soiling solution produced via a chemical process compatible with glass manufacturing. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is providing $1.6 million of funding for the project.

IHS Markit predicts that global installed solar PV capacity will grow by 20% to over 200 GW in 2022, despite a difficult cost environment. PV system costs are expected to resume their downward trend from 2023, when more polysilicon capacities will come into operation.

The pre-bid conference for the 50 GWh battery storage tender under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme saw the participation of around 20 prospective bidders. The conference was organized by India’s ministry of heavy industries to discuss and address the bidders’ queries.

Domestic manufacturers have until November 19 to bid for supplying the mono-crystalline/mono PERC silicon solar modules rated for a peak power output of 380-390W each.

The increase in the financial layout will help accommodate more manufacturers under the government’s production-linked incentives scheme to support gigawatt-scale manufacturing of high-efficiency solar modules. 

In a new report, experts from the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power System Programme (IEA-PVPS) have assessed the economical and environmental benefits of repairing and reusing or replacing solar modules that are not complying with a 30-year expected lifetime. They found that reusing offers the best environmental impact in all cases, while the profitability of this option is currently guaranteed only by rooftop PV under certain conditions. As for large-scale solar, module replacement remains the most competitive option.