Global solar manufacturing sector now at 50% utilization rate, says IEA
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that global solar cell and module manufacturing capacity grew by around 550 GW in 2023. It reports that around 80% of the global PV manufacturing industry is currently concentrated in China, while India and the United States each hold a 5% share. Europe accounts for a mere 1%.
Italy’s EU-made PV incentives raise specter of Chinese opposition
A World Trade Organization (WTO) official and several Italian lawyers recently spoke with pv magazine Italy about the timing of a potential Chinese legal challenge against Italy’s new solar measures, which exclusively provide incentives for high-performance PV modules produced in the European Union.
Sinovoltaics updates financial stability ranking of PV module manufacturers
The latest Sinovoltaics financial stability report ranking lists Tainergy, Eterbright, First Solar, Era Solar, and TSEC as the top five module makers. There was a slight reshuffling in the top ten, and seven new manufacturers were added to the ranking.
The Hydrogen Stream: Hygenco to set up green hydrogen, ammonia project at Tata Steel SEZ’s Gopalpur Industrial Park
Hygenco aims to produce 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of green ammonia from its plant at Tata Steel SEZ’s Gopalpur Industrial Park in Odisha. The project’s initial phase is set for commissioning by December 2026.
NREL interactive chart of solar cell efficiency now including ‘hybrid tandems’
The new cell category includes perovskite/silicon, perovskite/CIGS, III-V/silicon and perovskite/organic tandem PV devices. It will list the absolute record efficiency for all-perovskite, two-terminal tandems regardless of the number of junctions.
Accelerated declines in solar cell prices since late March
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, offers bite-sized analysis on solar PV module supply and price trends.
Wall-mount hybrid inverters from VSole
Indian manufacturer VSole has introduced single-phase hybrid inverters in power output ratings of 3 kW to 6 kW. The inverters allow uninterrupted power to the connected loads with a UPS-level switching time of 4 ms.
New metallization tech for HJT solar cells minimizes silver use, increases efficiency
German research institute Fraunhofer ISE has unveiled a new metallization process for heterojunction solar cells that reportedly increases power conversion efficiencies by over 0.1% while reducing silver consumption. A device built with the new technique achieved an efficiency of 23.2%.
New water circulation tech promises lower PERC solar cell manufacturing costs
A German team developed models to illustrate water-saving potential in PERC silicon solar cell manufacturing based on a circular approach and commercially available technology. In the case of a 5 GW fab, water savings of up to 79% and wastewater discharge reductions up to 84% could be achieved, a “significant” improvement compared to a reference scenario.
Vikram Solar wins 250 MW module supply order from GIPCL
Vikram Solar will manufacture and supply bifacial PV modules for Gujarat Industries Power Co. Ltd’s project at the RE Park in Khavda village in Gujarat.
