Trinasolar has been awarded the bankability certificate for its Vertex n-type TOPCon bifacial PV modules by TÜV Rheinland, an independent third-party agency for testing, inspection and certification.
A solar charging station has been installed at an altitude of 4,300 metres in the Everest National Park near the roof of the world. The solar modules come from Aiko, the system technology from Huawei.
With solar leading their rapid deployment, renewables are on course to meet almost half of global electricity demand by the end of this decade, a new report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) says.
The battle of the Chinese suppliers continues. Hopes that more powerful solar modules will achieve higher prices have not yet been fulfilled. Nevertheless, interesting new products were presented this summer.
Due to an ever-expanding supply, without increasing demand, a gigantic overcapacity in the solar energy sector has rapidly arisen in the past year. The rapidly dropped prices have subsequently caused financial problems throughout the supply chain. "There's no one taking advantage of this at all”, says Gerard Scheper, CEO of European Solar. To put a stop to the current situation, the Chinese government wants to take measures.
LONGi has made significant optimizations at its Jiaxing Lighthouse Factory, achieving a 43% increase in product quality, an 84% reduction in production and delivery cycles and a 20% reduction in energy consumption per unit.
Global solar yearly installations almost doubled in 2023, growing by 87% on the previous year. Though there are several challenges to unleash the full solar potential.
The very low Chinese panel prices have been causing major turmoil on the European market for months. But things are also bumpy in China itself, observes Gerard Scheper, CEO of European Solar. "JinkoSolar has been taken off the Tier 1 list due to financial issues, but it is certainly not the only Chinese manufacturer with problems."
Now that spring is halfway through and temperatures are starting to rise, there is also a cautious optimism in the solar sector. There is a very slight recovery in prices and a pick-up in demand. The big question seems to be: how will demand react to real price increases? "Everyone is now used to low prices and will want to buy just before a price increase," says Gerard Scheper, CEO of European Solar. "That can lead to chaos in another way."
Jens Holm, Sustainability Policy Director of the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC), sees the EU CSDDD Directive and the Forced Labor Regulation as an opportunity for European PV production and as a lever against social and environmental dumping by Chinese manufacturers.
Andreas Wöll, Managing Director of Eco-Worthy Europe, on the future of the European solar industry and the possibilities and opportunities of European-Chinese cooperation.
Despite the fact that the prices of solar panels have not dropped any further, there is certainly no price recovery yet. As a result, the selling price gap between European and Chinese solar panels remains so large that European producers are in serious trouble, according to Gerard Scheper, CEO of European Solar. "European producers are at a standstill and will certainly not be able to keep that up for another six months."
Engin Yaman, Managing Director of LONGi Germany, on current market developments, the security of supply chains and price developments, the discussion on Chinese price dumping and the business strategy for Europe and Germany.
In its 1st quarter 2024 report, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) still lists Sunova Solar as a Tier 1 module manufacturer.While 43% of module manufacturers were removed from the BNEF list, Sunova fulfilled the new criteria of providing minimum 6 projects with 5 MW or larger size.
Several containers with fake modules put into circulation. Bauer Solar is now taking legal action against the Chinese manufacturer and all other parties involved.
Several major European manufacturers, such as Meyer Burger, Norsun, Norwegian Crystals and REC Solar, have announced that the European market is no longer favourable enough for them to operate in. Gerard Scheper, CEO of European Solar thinks. "This means a very serious setback for any European production plans."
Prices for solar modules have continued to fall. But this could soon change. There are various reasons for this.
Shipping millions of solar modules from China across the world's oceans makes no sense, neither economically nor environmentally. Emissions that we want to reduce with solar power are shifted to China. They are also produced from transport by sea and by truck.
DAS Solar has developed a TOPCon 4.0 Plus high-efficiency solar cell that boasts an efficiency of 26.36% and an open-circuit voltage of 742mV, breaking the world record for this type of cell.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global expansion of renewables has accelerated massively in 2023. China is the driving force behind this.
The EU is currently struggling to find a common strategy to rebuild photovoltaic production. Know-how and inventiveness are also available in "good old Europe", as a visit to Teamtechnik, technology leader for systems for solar cell strings, shows.
Recently a 4GW high-efficiency photovoltaic module facility, jointly funded by Elion and DAS Solar, started in Inner Mongolia, China.
A outdoor test facility with 1500V DC N-type solar modules jointly conducted by DAS Solar and TÜV Nord in the tropical Hainan Province (China) has been officially been grid-connected.
Trina Solar’s 210mm Vertex ultra-high power solar modules, including the Vertex N 700W and the Vertex 670W, are being employed in a 2GW photovoltaic project on the site of a former coal mine in Ningxia, China.
The resilience of supply chains for key technologies for the energy transition, such as photovoltaics and wind power, is in a poor state in Europe. Import dependency, especially on China, is immensely high. A study shows this and gives recommendations.
