Asia

The Carbon Tracker Initiative crunched some numbers and discovered that more than half a trillion dollars worth of coal investments are at serious risk due to the declining cost of renewables.

Many solar factories in China are starting to resume production, suggesting that concerns about supplies of PV components could soon begin to ease. Nevertheless, the temporary standstill will have an impact on the global solar market, as the implementation of some projects will probably be postponed until next year.

The Chinese polysilicon giant’s net income fell nearly 23% year-on-year to $29.5 million in fiscal 2019, even though it posted a 16% year-on-year jump in revenue to $350 million. It expects its polysilicon output to soar in the year ahead, despite the threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak.

No potential investor could be found to take over the thin-film solar business. Insolvency proceedings started a few days ago and the business operations of the CIGS thin-film company were finally halted.

Also in the brief: Virginia Clean Economy Act, Utah’s residential solar future in the hands of its PSC and solar-powered irrigation in India

TOPCon cell technology has become one of the two leading next-generation options after mono PERC. But for the n-type architecture to truly become a rival to PERC, high-quality and cost-effective production technologies must become settled.

The Chinese manufacturer claims a record — since the device was manufactured on standard commercial production equipment.

The OneBox, from Indian manufacturer Vision Mechatronics, consists of a lithium battery, hybrid inverter and solar charge controller to give a ‘hassle-free’ solution for electricity back-up during power outages. Solar rooftop owners are offered a grid feed feature to maximize net metering income from any excess power generated.

The panels are equipped with glass-glass or glass-backsheet frames. Both offer a reported 21% efficiency. Trina plans to have a combined 5 GW of annual production capacity for the products this year.

Three more PV manufacturers are announcing plans to invest in an expansion of production capacities — as the industry appears to make light of coronavirus fears.