Cells

PV manufacturing capacity is projected to more than double by 2024, led by China, but oversupply is also anticipated, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) 2023 Scorecard identifies 250 solar modules from 35 manufacturers as “top performers.”

While it comes with clear performance advantages, the move to larger module formats has created plenty of confusion since it began in 2019. As the dust settles and standards emerge, pv magazine caught up with Hongbin Fang, director of product marketing at Longi Solar, to discuss the latest on wafer and cell dimensions.

India is expanding solar cell production capacity in a big way. Will manufacturers go down the established mono PERC route or leapfrog to advanced n-type technologies? Uma Gupta investigates.

India is set to add renewable energy capacity of 15,860 MW in 2019, a leap of 50% on the 10,560 MW installed last year. Around 70% – 10,902 MW – of the new capacity will come from utility-scale solar projects, according to Bridge To India analysts.

While the timelines for PV power plant execution and completion of manufacturing facilities are now more realistic, production obligations – especially for capacity utilization – need to be revisited.

The nation installed 4.9 GW of solar, surpassing the USA – which installed 4.7 GW – to become the second largest solar market in the first half of the year, second only to China’s 24.3 GW.

By adopting resource efficiency measures, the Indian PV solar manufacturing sector can reduce its material requirement from an estimated 12 million tons to 8.2 million tons by 2030. The resource-efficient approach will also increase efficiency to more than 30% from 6% in 2018, according to a study conducted under the European Union’s Resource Efficiency Initiative (EU-REI) Project.

The Indian government has imposed a safeguard duty of 25% on solar imports from China and Malaysia for two years. The Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) levied the duty based on the final recommendations proposed by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). While most industry players are dismayed, believing project costs could “immediately” go up by 15%, others are more optimistic.

The Asian companies will form a joint venture in India to execute the plan. The project’s total investment is expected to be around US$930 million, which will be used for the production of solar PV ingots, wafers, cells, modules and batteries.