There’s more to solar systems than module capacity
While solar modules are often defined first and foremost by their capacity, higher module capacity doesn’t necessarily translate to a more efficient system, or even a longer-term yield. Understanding this and reflecting this idea onto customers can be key to delivering the right technology.
Canadian Solar joins the 500 W-plus panel club
The Chinese-Canadian company has unveiled a range of high-power modules which are set to go into mass production by early next year. The series includes a commercial and industrial rooftop-dedicated product offering a reported 405 W.
Morning Brief: Navajo Transitional Energy proposes 200 MW of Solar, Florida adds 150 MW
Also in the brief: battery energy storage is getting cheaper, but how much deployment is too much? GCube Insurance is issuing a renewed warning to renewable energy asset owners about cyberattacks, REC Group’s flagship REC Alpha solar panel has won the Intersolar Award 2020 for photovoltaics, and more.
Longi launches 540-watt solar module, joins ‘super module’ scramble, aims for new wafer standard
The Chinese manufacturer has debuted two models in the new bifacial, double-glass series to join the scramble for a slice of the 500 W-plus market and to stake its claim to set the 182mm, M10 wafer adopted as the industry standard.
European consortium bid to bring 25.4%-efficient heterojunction-IBC solar cell into mass production
The EU-funded Nextbase project aims to manufacture heterojunction, interdigitated back-contact solar modules for less than €0.275/W. Solar panels featuring the Nextbase cell tech are expected to have a conversion efficiency of 23.2%, according to the European Commission.
PV module prices are falling faster than all predictions
New research from Wood Mackenzie shows that overall system costs for installations using mono PERC modules are set to fall by as much as 20% by 2025.
Pirates of the PV industry
Product piracy is a well-known threat in many industries, and in solar the risk posed by poor quality products from disreputable manufacturers making their way onto rooftops and other PV installations should not be underestimated. With manufacturers investing in solutions to protect against inferior products bearing their logo, pv magazine looks at the size of the problem.
Analyst expects ‘unprecedented’ consolidation of Chinese solar industry
Private PV manufacturers and project developers alike are set to be squeezed out by the state in the world’s biggest solar market, according to Frank Haugwitz, who has compiled a wide-ranging report as preparations for the next five-year plan gather pace.
First Tesla solar tile roof V3 installed in Massachusetts
It’s the first Tesla V3 solar tile roof in the state and the second on the East Coast. The 7.5 kW system includes two Powerwall batteries — although there is no time-of-use pricing and there hasn’t been a local power failure in a few years.
Single-axis bifacial PV offers lowest LCOE in vast majority of world’s land area
Researchers from the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore have concluded that utility-scale PV projects relying on bifacial panels and single-axis trackers deliver the lowest levelized cost of energy in most of the world. They found that the combination of bifacial products with dual-axis trackers is still too expensive, despite the higher yield. The second-lowest LCOE is offered by monofacial single-axis tracker plants.
