Manufacturing

Researchers in Japan have developed a repair technique for solar modules with damaged busbars and solder ribbons. They claim the new method can be implemented on site, without removing the panels from the array.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

Helena Li, president of Trina Solar’s global cell and module business, spoke to pv magazine at the recent SNEC trade show in Shanghai about the PV industry’s oversupply challenge. Li said the company is considering opening a factory in Europe and expressed optimism about future cost and price declines.

India’s Vikram Solar and New York-based private equity firm Phalanx Impact Partners and investment advisor Das & Co. have formed a joint venture to establish 4 GW of ingot-to-module manufacturing operations in the USA with a planned investment of up to $1.5 billion.

Scientists in Norway used various imaging and characterization techniques to analyze the cells and other components of silicon PV modules that had been installed in the field for more than 10 years. The group’s aim was to isolate the role of moisture in various mechanisms that cause performance loss over time, and to understand how these mechanisms progress over long-term installation in real outdoor conditions.

Pavit Gandhi, sales director at WattPower Systems, told pv magazine that WattPower Systems will supply 1 GW of string inverters by December 2023 and the balance by March 2024 for ReNew’s multiple renewable energy projects.

The German police arrested a Chinese citizen at Munich Airport last week, prior to the start of the Intersolar Europe trade fair. Investigators are targeting the detained individual for allegedly evading anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties imposed on PV products in the European Union prior to September 2018, a lawyer told pv magazine.

The new manufacturing facility is located in Thai Binh and will produce modules mainly for the US market. It currently has a capacity of 500 MW and is expected to reach 3 GW within 12 months

The minister also underlined the need for diversification of supply chains by using alternative battery technologies such as sodium-ion.

IEA-PVPS has published a report to help the solar industry to choose appropriate surface radiation models and data providers based on location and application requirements.