Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

The utility-scale solar pioneer and specialist is going small. After decades of avoiding distributed generation, its distributors will now offer First Solar’s series 6 modules to “projects and customers of all shapes and sizes.”

This pv magazine series, done in collaboration with industry experts, will analyze the challenges and opportunities created by the new generation of 500 W and greater panels.

Scientists in Spain have tested various properties of anti-reflective and anti-soiling coatings for PV module glass, aiming to develop a material that offers the best balance of desired material properties at the lowest cost. Over a year of testing, the best coatings were shown to boost module output by around 2%, and the group also made several observations that could influence future developments of coatings for PV module front glass.

In February, non-profit EU solar panel recycling body PV Cycle announced it had collected 5,000 tons of modules in France, of which 94.7% could be recycled. A reader asked us about the remaining 5.3% and here, PV Cycle’s communications manager, Bertrand Lempkowicz, responds.

Why is an essentially bankrupt Chinese solar company that had already furloughed most of its staff receiving $5 to $10 million from the U.S. treasury?

The US microinverter producer and the German panel maker have launched a residential glass/glass PERC module equipped Enphase IQ 7+ device. The 60-cell PERC module is available in three versions with power output ranging from 320 to 330 W and efficiencies of 18.8% to 19.4%.

According to the product sheet, the new series has dimensions of 2,219×1,765x40mm and weighs 43.5kg. Efficiency reportedly ranges from 20.1-20.8% and the module features a 12-year product warranty and 25-year linear power output guarantee.

As if being the only thin-film cadmium telluride solar panel manufacturer in the residential market wasn’t enough of a niche, Toledo Solar is now looking to develop something never done before: modules with glass-enameled steel backs.

The Chinese manufacturer introduced new PV modules this weekend at the SNEC solar exhibition in Shanghai.

Another stalwart of the solar industry was able to take the necessary precautions in order to maintain some sense of normalcy during the pandemic, leading to a quarter of increased sales, net cash and a positive outlook to finish off the year.