Manufacturing

Egyptian researchers have developed a multi-string PV system with a converter control strategy, achieving 99.81% efficiency with a direct duty cycle for maximum power point tracking (MPPT).

Sungrow, a Chinese PV inverter and energy storage system supplier, announced this week it has shipped 20 GW of photovoltaic inverters in India since entering this region in 2014.

Fenice Energy, formerly SunEdison, has launched single-phase and three-phase micro-inverters for residential and commercial solar installations, respectively. With a maximum input current of 20A, the micro-inverters support up to 670 Wp+ PV modules.

FNB Gas has unveiled plans for a hydrogen core network in Germany, while Tree Energy Solutions has started working on an electrolyzer and 1 GW of renewable energy assets in Canada.

Solar manufacturing capacity has been ramping up so quickly that even impressive installation growth cannot keep pace. Molly Morgan, senior research analyst at UK-based research firm Exawatt, explores the relationship between PV supply and demand and assesses the likelihood of overproduction.

South Korea researchers have developed a cell by merging green algae with carbon nanofibers, in order to generate 9.5 W per cell and achieve a peak efficiency of 0.9%. They claim this is enough to power a micro-generation system for hydrogen production.

Websol Energy Systems is setting up a 600 MW mono PERC solar cell line and plans to scale it to 1.8 GW in the future. It said the new line will start production in January next year.

Optimizing PV systems in partial shading conditions presents a multifaceted challenge, demanding a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between power electronics and PV technology. Shading scenarios exert a significant influence on system performance, with practical insights tailored to various shading conditions, offering guidance for stakeholders in PV planning. Collaborative efforts within the PV industry are directed at enhancing planning tools, seeking to streamline and improve the accuracy of PV system designs, and ultimately contribute to a more sustainable energy future.

Air Liquide and Siemens Energy have inaugurated their gigawatt electrolyzer factory in Berlin, while Air Products says it is cementing its collaboration with Chengzhi in China.

Scientists in the Netherlands have sought to understand the reason for unexpected gains in vertical PV systems and found that these installations have a much higher heat transfer coefficient than their horizontally deployed counterparts.