Asia

Hanwha Q CELLS has celebrated the grand opening of what it bills as the “largest” solar panel factory in the western hemisphere, a US$200 million facility in Dalton, Georgia, meant to supply 1.7GW to the US market every year.

While some of the industry insiders at REI 2019 have made predictable calls to scrap restrictions imposed by regulators, others have continued to maintain that policy support is crucial, while audience members voiced concerns about India’s lack of recycling rules.

The self-consumption project, being built by EPC contractor Helios Energy, is being realized by the Ministry of Innovative Development. The energy generated will power a free economic zone in the Chust district of the Namangan region.

When Sony first commercially introduced lithium-ion batteries in 1991, the industry recognized their potential to revolutionize portable electronics. Ever since, there have been countless efforts to improve the technology, with many researchers focusing on energy density and longevity, in line with demand from emerging applications such as electric vehicles (EVs) and on-grid energy storage. Julian Jansen and Youmin Rong of IHS Markit discuss the effect of safety concerns on this rapidly growing global market.

Integrated solar power producer, Scatec Solar has raised its growth targets in its key markets, due to strong demand.

India’s state utility plotting 5GW solar plant, according to reports

Polysilicon manufacturer Daqo has announced the start of pilot production in Xinjiang and expects to ramp up to full output by the end of the year, doubling the company’s annual capacity to 70,000 MT. Some 90% of its poly will be mono by that stage and Daqo expects 40% to be suitable for n-type products next year.

Taiwan is now home to what is being billed as the territory’s largest ground-mounted solar plant, an installation modelled after an at-risk bird that migrates nearby every year.

LONGi Solar has bagged yet another order for its high-efficiency module line Hi-MO 4, now set to power a utility-scale project in Vietnam.

A Swedish-Chinese research team has developed an organic cell said to be ideal for wide use in daily life to power internet of things-enabled devices. The cell could be used to power sensors that detect and measure moisture, particle concentrations, temperature and other parameters indoors.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to spearhead the multi-million-euro new phase of Kazakhstan’s renewable programme, now set to progress from a PV-only first phase.

With India’s power minister hinting that a new renewable energy tariff policy could be in the works, the federal agency responsible for solar has started boasting about the volume of clean power it has in the pipeline.

Researchers from the Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology have demonstrated a new method of fabricating perovskite-on-silicon tandem devices, using a transparent conductive adhesive to combine the two cells. The scientists have developed devices with demonstrated efficiencies of 19.4%, and propose strategies to bring that above 24% using existing technology.

This week, pv magazine headed to Marseille for the 36th edition of the EU PVSEC conference and exhibition. During the week-long show, leading universities and research institutes presented their latest results to the industry and public. As the conference heads into its final afternoon, we’ve put together five key takeaways from this year’s event.

The new generation facility was financed by the Asian Development Bank and built by Chinese company ZTE Corp. The project will sell power to the grid for $0.065/kWh, a record low for solar in the country.