A series of inquiries to residential PV installers has revealed a tough consolidation phase in Germany’s solar installation market. With an increasing number of installers offering solar arrays at very low prices, competition is intensifying as companies vie for fewer orders.

Meyer Burger will start production at its US module factory as it relocates its core operations from Germany to the United States. It is launching production of heterojunction solar modules and securing financing for a new cell plant.

Almost ten years after the “Powerwall 1,” US EV giant Tesla has launched its home battery system, Powerwall 3, in the United Kingdom and Germany. The Powerwall 3 is being officially presented at The smarter E Europe this week.

Wattando has developed a new rooftop PV solution that can be easily connected to a household’s power network via an AC connection. The system uses existing infrastructure and reportedly reduces installation work and time.

The new edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaic (ITRPV), published this week, reveals that the world’s installed PV capacity reached 1.6 TW at the end of last year. The learning curve, which reflects average module prices relative to cumulative shipments, is 24.9% for the period from 1976 to 2023.

Hansainvest Real Assets has switched on Europe’s largest solar plant – a 605 MW installation in Saxony, Germany. The project spans 500 hectares and operates under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Shell Energy Europe.

Meyer Burger says it plans to lay off 500 people at its PV module factory in Germany, but some employees might be relocated within the company. It says about 400 workers will lose their jobs.

Trina Solar has developed all-black, 450 W solar modules, featuring n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cells, with a power conversion efficiency of 22.5%.

Several containers with fake glass-glass module are said to be in circulation in Europe. Germany’s Bauer Solar has taken legal action against the counterfeiters, who are suspected to be based in China. It said the fake panels can be identified by the packaging and a lack of wooden reinforcements for the pallets.

Flaxres says it will leverage Hyundai’s capabilities to expand its business outside of Germany. The company has developed a solar module recycling technology that is based on short-term high-temperature heating using flash lamps.