Ascent Solar expands frontiers for thin-film PV in space
Company also seeks terrestrial applications for its lightweight, flexible modules.
Tandem PV moves toward perovskite manufacturing with $50 million funding announcement
With a perovskite layer 200 times thinner than silicon and requiring just 10% of the energy needed to produce conventional panels, Tandem PV reports it will be able to reduce energy use during manufacturing.
First Solar shares soar on release of Q4 and full-year 2024 earnings
The thin-film PV manufacturer sold a record 14.1 GW of modules resulting in sales increasing year-on-year, yet the company faces global policy uncertainty going forward.
China adds export restrictions for minerals used in thin-film solar
Restriction on cadmium telluride exports is expected to increase costs for U.S.-based thin-film solar manufacturer First Solar.
Solar panels: Larger, thinner… and weaker?
With hailstorms in the United States and Australia severely damaging solar arrays – including “golf-ball sized” hail at the 350 MW Fighting Jays project in Texas in March 2024 – insurers are raising premiums and reducing or canceling hail coverage. Everoze Partner Simon Mason discusses the challenges the industry faces in minimizing its hail risk exposure.
First Solar opens $1.1 billion solar factory in Alabama
The thin-film specialist inaugurated a new, vertically integrated manufacturing facility that adds 3.5 GW of capacity.
Novel bifacial flexible PV cell offers 27% efficiency
Scientists have simulated dozens of electron transport layer-free cell structures and have identified the optimal design with a Zr:In2O3 front transparent electrode, a CuSCN hole transport layer, and a NAN rear transparent electrode. They have also optimized its thickness and bandgap.
U.S. manufacturer Toledo Solar closes business
The Ohio based thin-film solar module producer was sued last year by First Solar, alleged that Toledo Solar sold Malaysian-made First Solar modules under the Toledo name.
Scientists identify new ‘promising’ absorber material for thin-film solar cells
Researchers in the United States have identified zintl-phosphide (BaCd2P2) as a new potential high efficiency absorber material for thin-film PV applications among 40,000 promising inorganic materials. The selected compound has a potential energy bandgap of 1.45 eV and a carrier lifetime of up to 30 ns.
Peloton’s loss is First Solar’s gain
The behemoth facility that Peloton intended to use to make fitness equipment will soon become a distribution center for First Solar’s U.S.-made thin film solar modules.
