News

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.

Sachin Jain joins Cleantech Solar from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he served as the head of clean energy for India and the global co-lead for solar energy.

Sleepwalkers has introduced an automated robotic device for solar panel cleaning that doesn’t require an additional rail system as it can move on the aluminum frame of the panels.

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.

Key Energy has installed a three-phase flywheel energy storage system at a residence east of Perth, Western Australia. The 8 kW/32 kWh system was installed over two days in an above-ground enclosure, dramatically cutting the time needed to install the flywheel system.

Clean Energy Associates (CEA) has performed a safety audit on more than 600 rooftop PV systems and has found that 97% of installations have major safety concerns. It says that 49% of sites have grounding issues, 47% have damaged modules, and 41% have cross-mated connectors.

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.