“I was not surprised by the figure itself but by the trend,” Bartosz Majewski, CEO of solar distributor Menlo Electric, told pv magazine. “As a distributor, we have decided to limit inventory as much as possible, in anticipation of the upcoming winter and the price drop that happened at the beginning of July. Even though the prices are decreasing since Q4 last year, they have then been sliding gradually through Q1 and Q2, but in Q3 the prices dropped by 30% in China – this is what really caught many distributors by surprise.”

Majewski said Menlo reduced its module inventory by a factor of 2.5 between July and the end of September.

“Now we are well below our one month's worth of sales,” he explained. “Rystad probably worked on different substocks or categories. For example, if modules are sold from Chinese manufacturer to their European subsidiary, or a distributor, under Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) incoterms, then they are formally exported the moment they are loaded on the ship. This is why they may appear that as European “stocked“ modules, even though they are still at sea and haven’t reached Europe yet. It takes roughly six weeks for these panels to come to Europe. So, if you assume that the Chinese are exporting 8 GW to 10 GW per month, that would mean that there would be about 10 GW to 15 GW worth of stock at sea, not in warehouses.”

“We do have some clients that have purchased significant stocks in anticipation of this season and some of them are still going through these stocks, although it is already October.”

Filip Sypko, general manager key accounts at Menlo Electric, that the tens of gigawatts of stored solar power in Europe primarily serve residential and commercial installations.

Most of the modules stored in Europe are based on PERC technology, with the result that the related market segment, mostly residential and C&I installations, is highly saturated.

“There is much oversupply and is very difficult to make positive margins there,” Majewski said. “For n-type products, it is a bit different, as it is still possible to make some positive margins.”

According to Majewski, n-type is currently only €0.01 more expensive than p-type.

“For p-type, it doesn’t matter at what price it was purchased, but at what price the buyer is willing to buy. All these modules in European warehouses will have to be sold by the end of this year, which means that regardless of what was the purchase price in the market, people will try to sell at the current market price because they need to release cash to pay their bills. For many companies it will be a matter of survival,” he said. For this reason, these stocked modules, especially those relying on p-type technology, may now be offered at a lower price than new arrivals from China.

When the bottom will be reached is unclear and installers will not wait indefinitely.

“You can wait, wait and wait but some installation just need to be delivered by the end of the year,” Majewski said.

Majewski believes there will be a limit to further module price drops in the months to come.

If you look at the margins made by the polysilicon and wafer manufacturers, and at those made by module makers, you realize that panel producers have not benefitted that much from the upward trend of the last two years. It was mostly the polysilicon and wafer manufacturers that captured windfall profits,” he said. “Now, however, both polysilicon and wafer producers are largely operating close to their marginal cost. So, it means that there is not too much potential for the prices to go significantly down further. They may continue to slide slowly but not as quickly as we have seen in Q3 2023.”

Reduced moisture in the Amazon delivered clear skies and increased irradiance across the tropics of South America. Solar assets in the region saw 110-120% of average monthly irradiance through September.

A strong and slow-moving storm early in the month lessened irradiance in southern Brazil, but the rest of mid-latitude South America saw mostly normal irradiance, according to data collected by Solcast, a DNV company, via the Solcast API. The Altiplano Plateau saw the highest irradiance for the whole continent. This is in line with historical averages, as the area records some of the highest irradiance levels in the world.

In September the tropics saw higher irradiance than usual. This was due to clearer skies caused by the current drought in the Amazon. The northeastern part of the Amazon has been dry since mid-July, resulting in reduced moisture in the rainforest and less evapotranspiration. This is a major source of moisture fuelling cloud formation over rainforest regions.

The region saw regular cumuliform clouds typical of tropical regions, but not the large storms and rainfall events that are typical of the start of the wet season in September. The rivers in the Amazon are reported to be at their lowest level in over a century as there has been a lack of rainfall and ensuing dry conditions in recent months. This has been exacerbated by warm conditions, as South America recorded the warmest September extending from heatwaves.

The Brazilian southern states of Rio Grande de Sul and Santa Catarina saw reduced irradiance. It recorded 10-20% below September averages and is due to an unusually strong extra-tropical cyclone. The storm moved onshore from the Atlantic in early September, and it’s slow-moving nature meant the irradiance impacts were more focussed and intense. Most of the remainder of mid-latitude South America saw much more moderate irradiance at or slightly below the long-term average.

Solcast produces these figures by tracking clouds and aerosols at 1-2km resolution globally, using satellite data and proprietary AI/ML algorithms. This data is used to drive irradiance models, enabling Solcast to calculate irradiance at high resolution, with a typical bias of less than 2%, and also cloud-tracking forecasts. This data is used by more than 300 companies managing over 150 GW of solar assets globally.

Taipei’s Nangang Exhibition Center hosted another Energy Taiwan event this week, combined with Net-Zero Taiwan, focusing on reducing the emissions of the island’s many industries. The show comprised 350 exhibitors and more than 24,000 attendees over three days, which the organizers say amounts to 28% growth over last year. Simon Wang, President of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, also noted that around 20% of attendees were at the event for the first time, denoting a growing importance for companies looking at net-zero strategies and ways to implement renewable energy.

Energy storage

Energy storage was front and center throughout the event, with companies from various background exhibiting batteries. Many of these are focused on commercial solutions for large, energy hungry industries to maximize their renewable energy uptake. And these often came with sophisticated energy management solutions –  illustrating Taiwan’s position as a leader in software development.

The show also saw plenty of talk about large-scale storage, and hopes that changes to legislation might soon drive bigger demand for residential energy storage as well. Battery suppliers were also keen to demonstrate their latest fire safety innovations, including cell level monitoring, automated water and chemical fire suppression systems and the somewhat simpler approach of encasing the whole battery system in concrete, which supplier TCC says would be able to contain fire at temperatures above one thousand degrees, and also bring other advantages in system longevity.

Taiwan will still be reliant on imports for its energy storage plans, with many players sourcing fully made batteries from abroad, or only assembling cells into packs locally. One company, Formosa Smart Energy, is looking to bring battery cell manufacturing to Taiwan. President Hui-Chi Liu told pv magazine that the company is working to bring 2.1 GWh of battery cell capacity online by the middle of 2024, with plans to later expand this to 5 GWh. At its booth in the exhibition, the company also had innovative approaches on show to battery recycling and solid-state batteries based on a mixed ceramic/polymer electrolyte.

Solar manufacturing

Taiwan’s solar manufacturing industry has seen little growth lately, faced with heavy competition from producers in mainland China. The cell and module makers at the show, however, shared a positive outlook, with expectation of more orders from domestic projects, as well as strong exports to the United States – where prices have remained high enough for Taiwan’s manufacturers to be competitive.

One manufacturer stated that it is also examining the opportunity of bringing manufacturing capacity online in the US, but sees some signs that the Inflation Reduction Act, which has brought with it a flood of factory announcements across the US, may have passed its peak. Their calculations show that the US could have 60 GW of module manufacturing capacity up and running by 2026, without much more than 40 GW of annual domestic demand to serve.

On the technology side, these manufacturers report that reliability, rather than the latest technology is the name of the game for now. All of the manufacturers pv magazine spoke with at the event are in the process of switching passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) manufacturing to the latest high efficiency tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology, by the middle of next year.

Chinese solar cell and module maker Aiko Solar has introduced three new solar modules at the Fintec tradeshow, which took place this week in Barcelona, Spain.

The company said its AIKO-A-MAH72Mw, AIKO-A-MAH54Mw and AIKO-A-MAH54Mb modules all rely on its proprietary all-back-contact (ABC) solar cell technology.

“The main advantages of our technology are the entirely illuminated cell area, the electrodes behind, the all passivated rear contacts and silver-free metallization,” Carolina Calisalvo, Head of Marketing Iberia, told pv magazine.

The manufacturer offers the AIKO-A-MAH72Mw in five versions with power output ranging from 600 W to 620 W and efficiency spanning from 23.2% to 24.0%. The open-circuit voltage is between 53.94 V and 54.34 V and the short-circuit current is between 13.44 A and 13.76 A. It has a size of 2,278 mm x 1,134 mm x 35 mm and a weight of 28.2 kg.

The AIKO-A-MAH54Mw module is offered in four versions with an output of 450 W to 465 W and an efficiency of 23.0% and 23.8%. The open-circuit voltage is between 40.50 V and 40.80 V and the short-circuit current is between 13.44  A and 13.7 A. It measures 1,722 mm x 1,134 mm x 30 mm and weighs in at 20.5 kg.

As for the AIKO-A-MAH54Mb panel, it is an all-black product featuring an efficiency ranging from 22.8% to 23.6% and an output of 445 W to 460 W. The open-circuit voltage is between 40.60 V and 40.90 V and the short-circuit current is between 13.86  A and 14.04 A. It has dimensions of 1,722 mm x 1,134 mm x 30 mm and a weight of 20.5 kg.

All products are built with 3.2 mm tempered anti-reflective glass and aluminum alloy frames. They also feature an IP68 enclosure and a maximum system voltage is 1,500 V. The panels have a temperature coefficient of -0.26% per degree Celsius and an operational temperature ranging from -40 C to 85 C.

Aiko Solar provides a 30-year performance warranty, with a purported 1% degradation in the first year and a guaranteed end power output of no less than 88.85% of the nominal power after 30 years.

From pv magazine Australia

While 2023 is still trailing 2021 for small-scale solar installations, the difference is now only 150 MW, or 7%, according to data from Sunwiz. In 2021, the fourth quarter was the most tumultuous three-month period. On the other hand, elevated lead levels and a spike in Google searches suggests that the fourth quarter of this year will contend for the strongest period in 2023.

“I think there’s already a good deal of momentum backed in and that we are going to see elevated levels [of sales],” Warwick Johnston, managing director of Sunwiz, tells pv magazine Australia. “I suspect we are going to have a strong October, so we’re up for a record year.”

Lead volumes this September were up 78% compared to the number of quote requests in September 2021, Sunwiz has found. Many customers are npw turning to Google to find out about installing solar.

“I’m seeing consumer interest levels 10 to 20% up on what they were in the same time of previous year. All this hasn’t yet flowed through to leads proposals and sales,” Johnston said of the spike in Google trends for “solar” and “solar panel.” He said that it's “the highest level it's been … and paybacks [on solar systems] are all improving now, so that bodes well for 2024 as well. My prediction is that we are going to have a strong finish to the year and have a record year for 2023.”

The average size of solar systems in Australia is also at record high, with especially strong growth in 10 kW to 15 kW systems. “The reason is because you’ve got commercial doing really, really well. Record year for commercial.”

Falling prices

Another interesting trend is that while Australian solar system prices are now falling after the pandemic hike, this has not translated to customers spending less overall.

This is demonstrated in the above two graphs, with the total dollar customer spend on top and dollars per watt below.

“If you look at the dollar total spend, it’s pretty consistent and flat. So this to me is saying as panels are getting cheaper, people are putting more of them on,” Johnston said.

Illinois-based ELM Solar, the US reseller of UK-based Naked Energy's solar thermal and photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems, has installed 240 of the British company's TÜV-certified collectors at a student dormitory at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

The university student residence installation is claimed to generate solar heat up to 120 C, with an annual peak capacity of 69.9 kW thermal energy. It is the first North American project for the British company.

The VirtuHOT HD collector uses a heat plate to absorb the sun’s energy and transfers it to the solar fluid to a high-efficiency heat plate. The absorber plate has a low emissivity coding reducing radiative heat loss. The vacuum in the glass tube reduces additional heat loss, resulting in a maximum of efficiency.

Naked Energy also makes PVT systems in a vacuum tube form with an absorber plate, conventional silicon solar cells, a borosilicate glass tube, and an integrated reflector in a mounting system with a 25.4 cm profile.

The absorbers can be tilted towards the sun optimising performance on pitched roofs, flat roofs, and vertical facades. A single tube unit measures 2,165 mm x 300 mm x 265 mm and weighs 20.9 kg. Its aperture area is 0.64 m2 and the absorber area is 0.331 m2. Its peak thermal output is 275 W and the electrical output is 70 W.

“The business development teams at ELM Solar and Naked Energy are currently in conversations with a variety of leads in the United States,” Christophe Williams, Naked Energy CEO, told pv magazine, noting that potential customers in the US range from paper and pulp manufacturers, health care facilities and restaurants, to pilot projects with international utility companies.

“Solar heat technology has enormous potential because it takes the task of heating water, a major energy cost in any building, either off the power or gas grid, resulting in financial and carbon savings for the building owner,” said Lee C. Graves, chairman, ELM Companies, owner of ELM Solar.

According to its CEO, Naked Energy is developing a software platform to ease the planning and modeling of new PVT installations, including cost, performance, and return on investment calculations for PV-generated electricity, solar heating and cooling. Williams also said that a first German project is slated to start construction in January, without providing further details.

Naked Energy claims that its technology quadruples the reduction of greenhouse gases per square meter compared to traditional solar PV panels.

The article was amended on October 20, 2023 to reflect that it was a thermal system and not a PVT system as originally reported.

EKO Instruments has introduced the PV Blocks performance measurement system, developed by Dutch engineering specialist ReRa Solutions.

The measurement system is purportedly capable of testing off-grid and grid-connected solutions with support for standard tests as defined in IEC 60891 and IEC 60904-1.

“Users can define the number of PV modules to connect to a variety of solar and meteorological sensors,” Kees Hoogendijk, EKO Instruments CEO, told pv magazine, who noted that the PV Blocks system has an integrated “rugged” PC, equipped with software to support data acquisition and data storage, a web-based interface, and an application interface (API) for Python programming packages.

The company is responding to the need to test under real-world conditions new types of PV modules for applications, such as building integrated PV (BIPV), agrivoltaics, and floating solar, as well as bifacial modules and perovskite solar cells.

“All of these need on site testing and research in diverse geographical regions, under varying environmental and atmospheric conditions,” said Hoogendijk. “It is difficult to test performance of the cells and modules in the lab under static conditions without verification outdoors.”

PV Blocks supports up to 32 PV test modules. Measurement loads range from 450 W to 900 W for IV-current voltages, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and positive voltage biasing. The measurement of IV curves can be set from 200 ms up to 30 seconds. The system also features an optional IP55 weatherproof enclosure for outdoor deployment.

As the name suggests, individual modules or blocks can be added to the “base” system, which consists of a PC, a systems controller block, application software, a 24 VDC power supply unit, and a 10 m ethernet cable.

The optional measurement modules are equipped with cables, connectors, sensors, and optical components for the following tests: temperature, MPTT, power, voltage, irradiance, and IV curves. The optional Modbus unit has 4 channels to digitally connect external equipment, such as pyranometers, reference cells, or weather sensors.

China Mono Grade, the OPIS benchmark assessment for polysilicon prices in the country, fell 4.22% to CNY79.5 ($11.07)/kg week-on-week for the first time in more than three months on the back of weakening demand across the solar supply chain, which has finally impacted the upstream polysilicon sector.

Domestic polysilicon prices were assessed in the range of CNY75-83/kg. While major polysilicon makers hold their price quotes at the higher end of the range, tier-2 producers have cut prices to their lower end, pulling overall market prices down.

Weakening polysilicon demand – driven by lower solar installation rates in the fourth quarter of 2023 – contributes to the move downward, with trade volumes light in the week to Tuesday. Wafer makers have cut their operating rates as module inventories build and solar installations face delays in the fourth quarter. Expecting polysilicon prices to fall further, wafer makers adopting a wait-and-see approach when purchasing the material.

High inventories in both the polysilicon and wafer segments also weigh on prices. According to a solar market veteran, China’s wafer inventories are estimated at 20 GW and polysilicon inventories at around 50,000 MT.

China polysilicon prices are expected to bottom out in the fourth quarter as more polysilicon capacity comes online and building inventories contribute to a supply glut.

OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides energy prices, news, data, and analysis on gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG/NGL, coal, metals, and chemicals, as well as renewable fuels and environmental commodities. It acquired pricing data assets from Singapore Solar Exchange in 2022 and now publishes the OPIS APAC Solar Weekly Report.

From pv magazine Australia

REC said the Alpha Pure-RX series, which is based on the company’s heterojunction solar cell technology (HJT), is the highest power class residential solar panel that it has yet produced with a power density of 226 W/m2.

The Alpha Pure-RX is available in three versions, with power ratings ranging from 450 W to 470 W, and efficiencies of 21.6% to 22.6%. The modules are made with 80 heterojunction, half-cut monocrystalline solar cells and have a maximum system voltage of 1,000 V.

The modules have open-circuit voltages ranging between 65.1 V and 65.6 V, short-circuit currents ranging from 8.81 A to 8.95 A, can operate within a temperature range of -40 C to 85 C, and have a power temperature coefficient of -0.24% per degree Celsius.

All three panels in the series measure 1,728 mm × 1,205 mm × 30 mm and weigh 23.2 kg. They feature a 3.2 mm solar glass with anti-reflective treatment, a black polymer backsheet, an anodized aluminium frame, and an IP68-rated junction box.

REC said the four-part junction box design makes the module a good performer in shady conditions and it is also designed to withstand weather extremes – including Australia’s hot climate.

“These panels perform better under low light and hot days offering higher power generation with a guaranteed power output of at least 92% at year 25,” the company said.

REC said the Alpha Pure-RX series will be showcased at the All-Energy conference in Melbourne next week when the manufacturer will also unveil its Alpha Pro M panel, a HJT solar panel targeted at commercial and industrial projects.

Gus Paviani, REC’s head of Asia Pacific and Japan, said the Alpha Pro M is the highest power class solar panel available in the market with a power output of up to 640 Wp and efficiencies of 21.8% to 22.9%.

“The REC Alpha family delivers top-quality, high-performance solar panels for homeowners, businesses and now for commercial and industrial project markets,” he said.

The manufacturer said the Alpha Pure-R panels are available to order now with the Alpha Pure-RX and Alpha Pro M panels expected to be available in Australia and New Zealand in the first quarter of 2024.

From pv magazine USA

Whether taking a weekend excursion or living the increasingly popular “van life,” shoppers for class B camper vans and RVs have a new all-electric vehicle option from Detroit-based Grounded.

The G2 van was developed on GM’s BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric vehicle platform. It was developed by ex-SpaceX senior software engineer and Grounded CEO Sam Shapiro and his team. The G2 van offer 250 miles (402 km) or more of range, 615 square feet (57 square meters) of living space, and 640 W of solar. It is powered by a 165 kWh battery, while a 10 kWh solar-charged battery supports its interior.

Electrical features in the van can be controlled via the Grounded+ app. The app can also be used to monitor energy usage, operate appliances, and monitor battery and water levels.

Features in the van include a queen-sized bed, bench seating with a flip-up table, a kitchen with a refrigerator and freezer, a sink, and induction stove. It has a “garage” for storage, under-seat storage, and overhead storage areas. It also has an outdoor shower and dry-flush toilet.

Grounded supports its electric camper van with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, whichever comes first. The warranty also covers the interior appliances for one year. The camper van starts retailing at $195,000.

From pv magazine 10/23

Solar installations in India have been steadily rising since March 2023. As per official numbers, India installed 9 GW (AC) of solar capacity from January to August 2023, which is around 12 GW of DC capacity, according to estimates. These installation numbers reflect many projects that were originally supposed to be built in 2021 and 2022 but were hindered by high equipment prices.

A government-approved relaxation of restrictions imposed by the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM) – which indicates which products can be included in government-backed projects – has accelerated Indian PV installations, helped also by falling module prices.

The start of 2023 looked a bit gloomy for India, compared with the usual pattern of a strong first quarter each calendar year. Module price and availability prevented many projects from being completed. In May, after the SNEC solar trade show in China, the market turned around. Module prices, excluding import duties, quickly dropped below $0.18 per watt (W) and continued to fall, reaching less than $0.15/W in the July to September period. Installers took the chance to complete pending projects, driving the current installation boom, which is likely to continue through the first three months of next year.

Rising imports

Local developers have grabbed the opportunity offered by module price declines to order in bulk. We believe that will lead to a strong upswing in module imports in the final three months of this year and the first three months of 2024. These modules will go into projects in the first part of next year and possibly even further out, depending on how legislation evolves.

Current regulation allows for government-tendered projects to include modules not named on the ALMM list, until March 31, 2024. Modules imported before that deadline but not installed will not be eligible for installation on government-aided projects. Developers are trying to persuade the government to extend that deadline by another three months, to give them more flexibility in terms of orders and imports.

Expanding production

Module manufacturers have ramped up India’s solar panel output, with annual production capacity expansions driven by national local-content policies. Annual module manufacturing capacity in India has already crossed the 20 GW mark but the factory utilization rate remains below 50% to date. That means, with local manufacturers having brought their prices closer to the cost of imported modules (plus basic customs duty), they will not be able to meet demand.

The fall in imported solar cell prices has resulted in a strong spike of cell imports over the past few months, which is likely to boost solar module-assembly factory utilization rates. The share of Indian-manufactured modules in new installations is expected to increase accordingly, especially after March 2024.

The combined generation capacity of imported and locally manufactured modules is still not enough to supply the 60 GW (AC) or so of solar projects that the Central Electricity Authority reports as being at some stage of construction.

Projects corresponding to more than two thirds of this capacity are unlikely to obtain modules before March 31, 2024. Hence, most developers of government-backed projects will need to procure modules included on the ALMM list. Such constraints on module procurement put the solar project pipeline at risk of delays.

In parallel with the government-backed PV project pipeline that dominates the Indian solar market, there is also growing interest among commercial and industrial electricity consumers seeking to procure solar power via on-site systems or private power purchase agreements. As these are not limited by ALMM list requirements, these segments of the solar industry are in position to benefit from possible module inventories in 2024. India’s PV deployment is, hence, set to diversify further across different market segments.

Given the high number of PV projects waiting to be commissioned and the level of module imports expected for the rest of the year, S&P Global Commodity Insights forecasts India will have installed 20 GW of solar this year. Solar installations in 2024 could be even higher than our forecast, depending upon government policy and possible further ALMM relaxations. Deadline extensions are possible, as we have seen previously in India’s solar power market.

About the author: Josefin Berg is an associate director for solar research at S&P Global Commodity Insights, leading a team that covers forecasts, trends, and company strategy in the downstream solar market. Her focus areas include developers and engineering, procurement and construction business strategies, demand for PV in emerging markets, and the role of solar in the power mix. With more than 12 years of industry experience, she writes reports on PV markets and trends and regularly speaks at industry events.

Linköping-based Epishine has launched a developer kit for the evaluation of its organic PV (OPV) technology, which it claims can replace or augment batteries in small indoor environmental sensing, information displays, and monitoring devices. The kit is targeted at innovators and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) considering embedding organic solar cells as a power source in new products.

Optimized for indoor lighting conditions and wireless low-power applications, the developer kit contains a supercapacitor, or energy buffer, that can be reconfigured to act as a battery, as well as embedded maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and a management system to handle charging, output voltages, and energy storage mechanisms.

“The evaluation kit highlights the power of Epishine’s indoor solar cells, demonstrating their ability to power low-power wireless devices. It combines our solar cells with a supercapacitor and allows for a fast replacement of primary batteries to evaluate light energy harvesting,” Jonas Bergqvist, CTO, Epishine told pv magazine.

The unit has sufficient current to support low-power data communications protocols, such Zigbee and LoRa, with output voltage ranging from 1.8 V to 3.3 V in 0.1 V steps, up to 300 mA output current, according to the company. It is purportedly safe for operation at -20C to 40C and a humidity range of 0 to 85%. Illumination intensity ranges from 20 lux to 1,000 lux.

The company claims that if the supercapacitor is empty, the circuit is able to start up with an input voltage of 38 mV. The maximum charge voltage of the capacitor is limited to 4.5 V.

Epishine recently subjected its LEH3_50x50_6_10 product to a lifecycle assessment (LCA) by Swedish environmental consultancy Miljögiraff and third-party reviewed by Sweco, a Stockholm-based engineering firm, resulting in a carbon footprint measurement of 0.86 g CO2eq/cm2.

The low carbon footprint is attributed in part to the company's patented production process, which avoids high temperatures and excludes certain materials. According to Bergqvist, it is cost-efficient too. “Roll to roll printing aligns well with these design rules with a very high degree of automation and comparably low process temperatures. Further, we have chosen to not use transparent conductive oxide electrodes, but all our solar cell layers are deposited from solution, thereby enabling a fully roll to roll printed solar cell with a high and very robust performance for indoor low light applications,” said Bergqvist.

Epishine offers customized cell sizes, supporting cut-outs in the cell surface, in sizes ranging from 20 cm2 to 300 cm2, to make the technology available to a wider range of sensor devices and internet of things (IoT) end nodes

In July, the six year old, company raised SEK 60 million ($5.43 million) in a round led by Jula Miljö & Energi, which belongs to Jula Holding, a diversified retail, real estate, and energy holding company based in Sweden, to fund product development and scaling up production in order to increase its market share in the indoor solar cell market.

From pv magazine France

A group of scientists from South Korea's Rural Development Administration, an agriculture organization under the country's Ministry of Agriculture, has created an energy system based on photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) panels and a ground-source heat pump.

The system is intended to provide cooling and heating to greenhouses.

“In Korea, geothermal energy is widely used as renewable energy for agriculture, but if geothermal heat is used for a long time, the heat source becomes insufficient,” the agency said, noting that covering around 10% of the greenhouse's roof with PVT panels may easily compensate for this typical shortcoming of geothermal energy. 

The researchers said the PVT panels are able to produce hot water at temperatures ranging between 30 C and 40 C. “This is then used as a heat source for the heat pump to produce hot water at temperatures ranging from 48 C to 50 C, which is a suitable range for greenhouse heating,” they explained.

In spring, summer, and fall, when heating is not needed, the heat produced by the PV panels is sent to the groundwater layer, stored, and used to heat the greenhouse in winter.

The PVT system used in the project has an overall efficiency of 73% and is able to achieve an electricity output of 3 kW and a heat output of 7.9 kW of heat occupying a roof surface of around 18㎡. The presence of the PVT panels, according to the research group, allowed them to reduce the installed capacity of the existing geothermal system by up to 30%.

The researchers conducted an economic analysis of the system performance and found it may reduce heating and cooling costs in a greenhouse by up to 78% compared to diesel generators. They also estimated that the system may achieve a payback time of 4.4 years. “The PVT panels can increase the energy saving rate of a greenhouse by 20% compared to existing geothermal systems,” the researchers added.

The Rural Development Administration said it has applied for a patent for this technology and plans to distribute it to Korean farmers.

“The price of electricity for agricultural use is rising, putting a huge burden on farm management,” said the agency. “We are actively using new and renewable energy such as solar power, heat, and geothermal heat to reduce the costs and achieve carbon neutrality.”

From pv magazine USA

Qcells announced the successful completion of the expansion of its solar module factory in Dalton, Georgia where it added 2 GW of solar capacity, bringing the factory’s output to more than 5.1 GW.

The company said its Dalton factory is the largest manufacturing plant of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and the first solar panel plant expansion since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The expanded factory will manufacture nearly 30,000 solar modules a day, focusing on the new Q.TRON G2 residential solar module and a bifacial module for the commercial and utility markets. The company expects both products to achieve an ecolabel known as EPEAT, which is intended to help customers identify sustainably made products. QCells says the expanded factory will create 510 new jobs.

“Completing this factory marks the third expansion we’ve made in Dalton, and it’s just the beginning of Qcells’ larger mission to build a fully integrated solar supply chain in America,” said Justin Lee, CEO of Qcells. “The Inflation Reduction Act and the efforts of Georgia’s economic development team helped make these ambitious plans possible, and with it thousands of careers in clean energy. As we build new solar technology from Dalton and prepare for the start of Cartersville, it is critical that our local to federal leaders continue to work not only with us, but the larger industry to ensure our collective investments deliver for communities for decades to come.”

In January, QCells announced that it would invest more than $2.5 billion to build a complete solar supply chain in the U.S.. Considered the largest investment in U.S. solar history, it also made QCells, a subsidiary of Hanwha Solutions, the first company to establish a fully-integrated silicon-based solar supply chain in the U.S.  Qcells intends to break ground on a new, state-of-the-art facility in Cartersville, Georgia, where it will manufacture 3.3 GW of solar ingots, wafers, cells and finished modules.

By 2024, between the Dalton and Cartersville facilities, Qcells anticipates its solar production capacity will reach 8.4 GW a year, or enough to power 1.3 million homes annually with clean energy.

Qcells opened its first factory in Georgia in 2019 and hired 750 people to manufacture 1.7 GW of solar. This initial investment was made possible in part by the Section 201 tariffs imposed on solar cells. Last year, Qcells announced a second expansion, which would add 1.4 GW to its manufacturing output and hire 535 more people. This now completed third expansion as well as the new facility that will manufacturing cells, wafers and ingots, follow the passage of the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act (SEMA) within the IRA and are made possible with support from Georgia’s economic development team.

Upon completed construction, Qcells estimates that its production in Georgia could avoid more than 12 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents per year while expanding domestic manufacturing of solar products amidst the push for Made-in-America clean energy solutions.

Researchers from Spain have simulated the effect building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) will have on the energy consumption and the economics of high-rise office buildings in the Mediterranean area.

They presented three different BIPV integration scenarios for the GESA building, an office building built in the 1960s in Palma de Mallorca, in Spain's southern archipelago of the Balearic Islands.

“Despite of its iconic and protected status, the GESA building has been abandoned for several years, hence it requires a refurbishment that will also update its skin to the current energy efficiency standards,” the scientists explained. “The inefficient envelope, location (isolated and in a sunny climate), and representability of a typology of office building make it a good reference for studying the impact of refurbishing with BIPV.”

Via the TRNSYS simulation software, which is commonly used to simulate the behavior of transient renewable systems, the group simulated the impact of BIPV taking as reference a representative floor. As in the physical building, among the parameters inserted are the GESA building’s curtain wall structure, which is 77% composed of semi-transparent windows and 23% of non-window opaque areas. As the building, although abandoned, is protected by a local heritage commission, the façade design has to keep its original characteristics.

The reference scenario was based on the existing double-glazing Parsol Bronze window. It was compared to four other scenarios, one with only solar control windows; the second with solar control windows and BIPV modules in the opaque area; the third with only transparent BIPV windows; and the fourth with BIPV windows and opaque BIPV in non-transparent areas.

“The data for the transparent PV used in this study is based on a prototype currently in development, hence there is room to improve the thermal, optical, and electrical properties to better fit the building needs, as well as to increase the PV conversion efficiency,” the research group emphasized.

According to the results, the final energy consumption in the existing reference case was simulated at 51.3 kWh/m2. In the case of only solar control windows, this value reached 45.8 kWh/m2, with very similar results with the addition of opaque BIPV. However, in this case, the building will be able to use 5.8 kWh/m2 and export 2.6 kWh/m2 to the grid.

In the case of only transparent BIPV windows, the energy consumption will be higher, as that module will block more of the solar radiation and, therefore, result in higher heating and lighting demands. Overall, that system will require 49.8 kWh/m2 while consuming 5.1 kWh/m2 and exporting 2.2 kWh/m2. In the case of using window BIPV and opaque BIPV, the demand will reach 47.6 kWh/m2, while self-consumption will take 10.9 kWh/m2 and 5 kWh/m2 will be exported to the grid.

“The results show the potential of the BIPV solutions for improving the energy balance of the building. The transparent PV reduced the energy demand by 6.9% and the total energy balance by 21%,” the scientists added. “The opaque PV further improved the results of the two glazing system solutions, the energy balance improving to 28.1% and 38.3% with the solar control and transparent PV solutions, respectively.”

The researchers also conducted an economical analysis, which they claim showcases the “relevance of the electricity pricing schemes into the promotion of BIPV.” The components and installation cost of the components were mostly obtained from a construction materials database, while the cost of the prototype window BIPV was assumed at €200 ($210.65)/m2.

They looked into two tariff levels. The first is based on current Spanish tariffs and demand, while the second assumes a high penetration of PV into the national grid. In this case, the net load of high-penetration photovoltaics presents a very low price. Another variable was the compensation for the electricity sold to the grid by the building, which they estimated at either 0%, 30%, or 100% of the electricity price.

Currently, 30% of the electricity price is the typical export value in Spain. Under this assumption, with the current price profile, the discounted payback time for solar control will be 24 years, for solar control and opaque BIPV it will be 14 years, for window BIPV only it will be over 50 years, and the combination of both BIPV technologies will result in a payback time of 24 years. In the assumption of high PV penetration and 30% electricity price, however, the payback time in all systems may exceed over 50 years.

“The lower average electricity price and, more importantly, the timing of the generation in the ‘high PV’ scenario explain the significantly worse payback periods,” they concluded.

Their findings are available in the paper “Impact of building integrated photovoltaics on high rise office building in the Mediterranean,” published in Energy Reports, which also included an economic evaluation. The research group comprised academics from The Technical University of Catalonia and the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research.

From pv magazine India

German PV module manufacturer Axitec has revealed plans to set up 600 MW of its own pilot lines to produce solar modules in India.

Tanmoy Duari, chief executive officer at Axitec Energy India, told pv magazine that out of the planned 600 MW, 300 MW will be built in Gujarat. Another 300 MW will be installed in Tamil Nadu to overcome the transportation challenges in catering to the markets in the south.

The two plants will produce n-type TOPCon PV modules in bifacial glass-glass variants with power outputs of 580Wp to 585 Wp, though the same lines can also be used for mono PERC modules.

Duari said the production will begin in the first quarter of 2024.

“Our focus being on quality, we will primarily target the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, not the massive utility-scale projects,” he added.

From pv magazine Australia

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has harnessed sub-millimeter ceramic particles to store energy in a concentrated solar thermal system. Its pilot plant in the state of New South Wales has successfully reached temperatures of 803 C through this method.

The agency said the novel concept increases temperatures in the process from 500 C to 800 C, and possibly more than 1,000 C. This holds promise for decarbonizing heavy industry, which can require extreme heat for processing. It also overcomes some of the limitations of heat transfer fluids traditionally used in concentrated solar thermal (CST) technologies, said the CSIRO.

To continue reading, please visit our pv magazine Australia website. 

From pv magazine Germany

The downward trend in module prices across the board could not be stopped this month, but it is clearly losing momentum. Manufacturers and dealers of solar modules are still reducing their prices, but only in small steps, and seek to slowly approach the price level accepted by the market. For a long time now, nothing has been earned from products at this price level.

In China too, it's all about minimizing damage, because unsold stocks generate avoidable costs and the risk of progressive depreciation is always present. In order not to have to pay extra for transport costs, export quantities to Europe have been drastically reduced by Asian producers in recent weeks.

Interestingly, module prices on continents other than Europe and Asia are not as affected by the price decline. The price gap is sometimes drastically different – in the United States, it is up to 100% compared to the European prices for modules with comparatively low efficiency, which means with monocrystalline PERC cells.

However, products produced in China cannot easily be redirected to America because there are strict import restrictions there. This keeps prices there high and market volume low. We will be curious to see whether the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) really has the desired and needed impact on local PV production capacity. At least with the currently very high purchase and installation costs in the United States, it is rather unlikely.

Transferring this model to other markets is risky, although some non-Chinese manufacturers are already celebrating and shifting their sales focus and scope of operations to the United States. An industry cannot be kept alive permanently through subsidies, we should all have learned that by now.

Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers cannot endure a sustained period of low prices for long and are already trying to stabilize prices again through artificial shortages. If demand picks up again towards the end of the year due to the current price situation, the downward trend could soon be stopped. There is hardly a market participant who is happy with the current situation.

Overview of the price points differentiated by technology in October 2023, including the changes compared to the previous month (as of Oct. 15):

About the author: Martin Schachinger studied electrical engineering and has been active in renewables for more than 20 years. In 2004, he set up pvXchange.com. The online platform allows wholesalers, installers, and service companies to purchase a range of components, including out-of-production PV modules and inverters.

German PV manufacturer Technaxx has introduced a new solar table for residential use.

The table embeds on its surface monocrystalline solar panels with 410 W of output and a power conversion efficiency of 20.97%. Its pre-assembled micro-inverter allows for 400 W of output.

“We use PERC technology for our solar modules, which feature high-efficiency cells and are equipped with three bypass diodes,” a company spokesperson told pv magazine.

The product can be purchased for €699-951.00 ($736.52-1,000), according to the company's website.

When not used as a tabletop, the table panel can be tilted to 20, 30 or 35 degrees for energy generation. Its activity can then be tracked via an app, remotely, as the table transmits the data via Wi-Fi. The table measures 173 cm x 114 cm x 84 cm and is suitable for up to eight people.

“Our solar modules are TÜV certified for mechanical stress, including 2400Pa wind load and 5400Pa snow load,” the company said. “However, single-point stress can damage the module and hail.”

Researchers led by the German University of Technology in Oman have looked into the effect of dust accumulation on PV systems and claim to have identified an optimal cleaning cycle in economic terms.

The scientists have conducted the research on an experimental setup located in an area next to their campus. “The research might be valid to countries with dry weather, humidity during summer, and high temperature,” the research's corresponding author, Ali Al Humairi, told pv magazine. 

“Photovoltaic energy is considered the most viable renewable energy source in the Middle East and North Africa region due to the high solar irradiation level and the number of clear sky days during the year,” the group said. “However, environmental factors such as dust limit the optimum utilization of the source.”

The experimental setup included two identical strings of nine PV modules connected in series, with one string being dry-cleaned daily and the other not. The 5.85 kW ground-mounted system was south-oriented and had a tilt of 17 degrees. The modules were based on polycrystalline cells, and each had a peak power of 325 W. The system included an inverter with 98.5% efficiency.

The observation of electrical and weather parameters began in November 2020 and ended in April 2021. “The experiment was conducted in the winter and spring seasons, which generally have less soiling rate and air contamination,” the researchers explained.

Comparing the cleaned string to the non-cleaned string, the academics found that dust led to up to a 28% reduction in the PV current performance and up to a 24.2% reduction in the PV power. Overall, the average difference in the current performance was 14%, and in PV output it was calculated at 11%.

“The difference between the uncleaned and the cleaned modules’ output current has increased exponentially during this period,” they said regarding the current. “In November, the difference in current is about 2%, which increased with time; in December and January, it is about 5% and 10%, respectively. The momentum intensity slightly dropped in February and recorded a difference of 18%. This was followed by a less momentum increment in March and April, resulting in a difference of 22% and 28%, respectively.”

As for the PV power output, they found no substantial effect in the first three months, with the difference being 0.1% in November, 1.9% in December, and 7.7% in January. However, it was much more noticeable in the next three months – with a 14.7% difference in February, 19.3% in March, and 24.2% in April.

For its economic analysis, the team used a fixed rate tariff of $0.11 per kWh. The cleaning rate was set at $1.30 per hour per worker, and according to the paper, one person could clean the whole system in one hour. Using this data, they have found the recommended cleaning interval to be once every one or 1.5 months, resulting in 8 to 12 cleaning cycles per year.

The group presented its findings in the paper “Experimental Investigation Of The Soiling Effect On The PV Systems Performance And The Cleaning Intervals In Oman,” published in Solar Energy Advances. It also included scientists from the Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat University, and Germany’s Duisburg Essen University.

“The effect of the accumulated dust was evident in the third month of the experimental period, indicating the necessity of conducting a cleaning cycle for fewer than three months to avoid losses,” the researchers concluded. “However, the results could vary depending on the location, season, geographical and meteorological conditions.”

DMEGC Solar says that its new cell manufacturing facility in Yibin, Sichuan province, will commence mass production of n-type TOPCon cells this month, with advanced automation, wireless data, and robotics. The module and cell manufacturer operates five production hubs across four Chinese provinces, with a cumulative shipment record exceeding 30 GW, including 14 GW of cells and 12 GW of modules distributed worldwide.

TCL Zhonghuan says it plans to generate CNY 13.8 billion ($1.92 billion) via a private share placement to build a 35 GW super-thin polysilicon wafer factory and a 25 GW n-type TOPCon cell plant in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. All solar cells produced at the factory will be supplied for Zhonghuan's PV module products.

Haitai Solar says it has canceled an investment deal in the city of Yancheng, Jiangsu province, for a 10 GW TOPCon cell factory, citing uncertainty over land-related concerns. Separately, it has signed an agreement with the city of Chuzhou, Anhui province, to construct the same 10 GW TOPCon cell factory, with the investment amount unchanged at CNY 5 billion (equivalent to $695 million).

From pv magazine India

Swelect has introduced its new TeSirius series of monofacial mono PERC modules, with power outputs ranging from 575 Wp to 595 Wp and efficiency levels of 20.46% and 21.17%, respectively. The modules feature 156 monofacial half-cut cells based on M10 (182 mm) wafer sizes.

The company said the modules are suitable for commercial, residential, utility, and industrial applications. They are certified to withstand extreme wind pressures of up to 2,400 Pascal and snow loads of 5,400 Pascal, thanks to their robust 18-micron thick anodized aluminum frame.

These modules can be seamlessly integrated into PV systems with a maximum voltage of 1,500 V and can operate effectively within a temperature range spanning from -40 C to 85 C.

In terms of dimensions, these modules measure 2,470 mm × 1,138 mm × 35 mm and weigh 29.5 kg.