The PV industry is undergoing rapid technology changes that have been driven by the well documented, swift adoption of monocrystalline wafers. Less well understood is that, within this wafer technology transition comes a shift to larger wafer sizes and this includes p-type and n-type mono-Si wafers.
PV is increasingly becoming the cheapest energy source and therefore has become the energy source with the highest yearly capacity additions! Even in 2018, after some scepticism right after SNEC 2018, due to the announcement of the Chinese Government to stop supporting PV as intensively as in 2017, more than 100GW (109GW) have been installed worldwide (we actually bet a crate of beer on that!) and 125GW has been forecasted to be installed in 2019.
Just when it looked like the underlining trend for Tesla’s shift away from using third party mainstream solar panel suppliers was set in stone, as manufacturing partner Panasonic started ramping Gigafactory 2 production, the latest data for the third quarter of 2018, goes completely in a different direction.
Leading PV microinverter supplier Enphase Energy reported second quarter 2018 earnings that indicated the path back to sustained profitability was in sight, despite a number of market issues, such as trade barriers and continued electronic component shortages.
LG Electronics has introduced a higher performance version of its ‘NeON 2’ 72-cell solar modules using its N-type monocrystalline double-sided ‘CELLO’ cell architecture with 390W-plus performance. The company recently provided US project developer Cypress Creek Renewables with 8.5MW of 395W ‘NeON 2’ modules for one of largest solar-plus-storage installations in the country.
As module suppliers adapt to the slowdown of Chinese module demand in 2018 and 2019, global EPCs and developers are likely to see new Asian-produced panels being offered for both rooftop and ground-mount installations.
Three solar companies were winners of the Intersolar Awards during a packed Intersolar Europe in Munich, Germany this year.
In 2018, the industry judges were said to have focused on product solutions that exploited design characteristics to achieve the best possible results.
LG Electronics' flagship solar PV panel has a 365 Watt rating with improved temperature coefficient and extended product warranty designed with high aesthetics for residential applications. The LG ‘NeON R’ panel uses N-type monocrystalline cells (60-cell) with back contact electrodes.
SolarWorld Americas the subsidiary of bankrupt integrated PV module manufacturer SolarWorld AG said it would receive a US$6 million cash infusion from its parent company’s financial lenders to continue reduced operations after recent workforce reductions and support its co-petition with bankrupt US rival Suniva in the ITC ‘Section 201’ case.
