From pv magazine Global

The latest supply chain report from Sinovoltaics, the Hong Kong-based technical compliance and quality assurance company, covers the North American manufacturing hub, tracking factory size, location, owner, current and planned capacity. It provides details on 95 factories producing PV modules, cells, wafers, ingots, polysilicon, and metallurgical-grade siliconin the region, up from 81 in the first quarter.

The Sinovoltaics Supply Chain Map (SSCM) – North America for Q2 2024 notes 42 GW of total module production capacity spread across Mexico, Canada, and the United States, which manufacturers plan to double to 84 GW in the coming 3 to 6 years. A Sinovoltaics spokesperson told pv magazine that the figures represent “nameplate capacity.”

The report presents data from publicly available sources, as well as Sinovoltaics contacts with manufacturers. “The report gives insights into the theoretical capacity if the factories are running at 100%,” a spokesperson from the company said. “Our data are based on the press releases that we’ve received from different manufacturers and different research, and marketing analysis documents that we’ve seen.”

There are ten more manufacturers included in the second quarter report than the previous one, a mixture of thin film, TOPCon, and perovskite tandem technology companies. The additions are Ascent Solar, Astronergy, Boway Alloy, Caelux, Great Lakes Solex, NanoPV, Prism Solar, Runergy, Solaria, and Ubiquity Solar.

The analysts noted constraints in the region’s supply chain at the cell and wafer nodes. Cell production is at 8 GW and growing to 55 GW in the coming 3 to 6 years, while wafer production is to grow from 3.2 GW to 24.5 G.

The Sinovoltaics team noted the CubicPV decision to halt silicon wafer production to focus on tandem perovskite technology and REC Silicon’s plant closure in Butte, Montana, observing that the market had not moved yet to fill the void.

Sinovoltaics has been tracking the development of PV manufacturing hubs and began publishing a series of free quarterly reports this year, mapping production in India, North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe

Solar ingot and wafer manufacturing coming to Oklahoma The Norwegian company, Norsun, announced an investment of $620 million in a 5 GW ingot and wafer facility planned in Tulsa.

People on the move: Spruce Power, ConnectDER, Amp Energy and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

pv magazine interview: ‘Oversupply issues may continue in 2025’ As part of our Intersolar 2024 interview series, pv magazine spoke with Amy Fang, Senior PV analyst at InfoLink Consulting, about new solar factories coming online and decreasing solar modules prices. She says the downward trend may continue until the first half of next year, with prices reaching $0.07/W, and estimates global module demand for this year could reached between 470 GW and 500 GW.

Back contact solar beats mono PERC at lifetime energy generation A new analysis finds that back contact solar shows an average lifetime energy generation increase of 16.0% over mono PERC. The paper also says back contact had an average 9.7% shorter payback time and 10.7% lower LCOE across all modelled locations.

New York governor urged to double solar deployment goal Currently New York has a state target of 10 GW deployed by 2030. The state’s Solar Energy Industries Association has called for a new target of 20 GW of distributed solar by 2035.

Norsun plans to invest $620 million in a new 5 GW silicon ingot and solar wafer manufacturing facility on a 60-acre greenfield site in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has motivated solar module manufacturers to build manufacturing facilities in the U.S; however, very few factories are planned for the production of ingots, wafers and cells. This shortage leaves U.S. solar module makers reliant on imports, mainly from China.

Production at the new Norsun plant is expected to begin in 2026, bringing much-needed U.S.-made silicon ingots and wafers to the supply chain, as well as 320 jobs to the Tulsa area. Norsun reports that production can be expanded up to 10 GW.

“Our business plan has an ambitious timeline, so we knew we needed a partner who can work fast and efficiently to meet the critical need for American-made energy,” said NorSun CEO Erik Løkke-Øwre. “Oklahoma impressed us even before our selection journey – its robust clean energy, manufacturing ecosystem and workforce development programs were already on our radar, and its competitive business offerings and site acceleration options solidified our decision.”

Norsun, founded in Norway in 2007, specializes in the production of monocrystalline ingots and wafers for ultra-high efficiency solar cells. The expansion was facilitated by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust.

“I’m proud to welcome Norsun to Oklahoma, and I’m thrilled that Oklahomans will benefit from hundreds of new jobs in the Tulsa area and a $620 million capital investment,” said Governor Kevin Stitt. “Our pro-growth policies, workforce development efforts, and ‘more of everything’ energy approach make us an incredible state to invest in, and I’m glad NorSun can be a part of it.”

From pv magazine Global

A new white paper from research and consulting firm Exawatt examines and contrasts key module parameters across various technologies to assess the potential value these technologies may offer for residential and commercial applications. The white paper, authored by Molly Morgan and Alex Barrows of Exawatt, draws on analyses from the company’s Solar Technology and Cost Service.

The paper reveals that, in the modelling performed, back contact (xBC), heterojunction (HJT), and tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technologies may exhibit meaningful improvements in lifetime energy generation compared to mono passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) technologies. Through detailed modelling exercises, the document evaluates how xBC, HJT, and TOPCon contribute to increased clean energy generation and potential financial savings depending on specific system parameters.

In both residential and commercial system modelling scenarios, the authors found that xBC stands out as the top performer, showing an average increase of 16.0% over mono PERC, while HJT and TOPCon offer generation gains of 11.4% and 8.2%, respectively.

Furthermore, the white paper delves into the profitability of residential and commercial installations through assessments of payback time and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Despite their premium pricing, xBC, HJT, and TOPCon technologies demonstrate enhanced profitability in both modelling scenarios in comparison to the previously mainstream mono PERC. Among these technologies, xBC emerges as the frontrunner, boasting an average 9.7% shorter payback time and 10.7% lower LCOE across all modelled locations.

While small cost reductions may still be achieved in the current PV industry, the white paper outlines that these are relatively minor in comparison to the potential efficiency gains offered by advanced technologies. High module efficiency is key to driving down system cost-per-watt, payback time, and LCOE, since it can drive down the per-watt costs of many key non-module costs such as labor and mounting.

The white paper underscores the importance for distributors, installers, and system owners to grasp the value proposition of high-performance technologies for informed decision-making on which technology has the greatest value for a specific application.

The authors conclude that as the industry continues to prioritize performance improvements over cost reductions, embracing high-performance PV technologies can pave the way for enhanced efficiency, cost savings, and sustainable energy solutions.

Meyer Burger set to begin production at U.S. module factory The relocation of the photovoltaic manufacturer’s core business from Germany to the USA is taking shape. Production of heterojunction solar modules is starting and financing for a new cell plant is progressing.

Solar tax transfer for smaller projects: Dissecting a $600,000 tax credit transaction Basis Climate has closed its smallest IRA transferable tax credit deal to date,  marking the end of an era dominated by million-dollar minimum tax credit transactions.

Origami Solar sets up regional fabrication of steel solar panel frames Partnerships with steel equipment producers in Ohio and two locations in Texas will enable Origami to have its steel solar module frames shipped from fabricator to module manufacturer in one to two days, the company says.

‘Module prices surprisingly keep going down’ As part of our Intersolar 2024 interview series, pv magazine spoke with Yana Hryshko, head of Solar Supply Chain Research for Wood Mackenzie, about overcapacity, declining panel prices and expected PV demand for the next years. She revealed that Chinese module procurement schemes are currently seeing unprecedented, “ridiculously” low bids, but she also noted that the $0.08/W threshold may now be difficult to exceed. Hryshko also expects many manufacturers to backpedal on previously announced capacity expansion plans and renegotiate module supply contracts.

Cultural considerations for international solar expansion Each region has a different way of doing things, whether it’s selecting sites, managing employees, or implementing manufacturing standards. Companies looking to expand into foreign markets need to be prepared to deal with these cultural differences, says Clean Energy Associates (CEA) Vice President Mark Hagedorn.

City of Detroit to install solar in mostly vacant neighborhoods Three Detroit neighborhoods were chosen as sites for solar facilities. The City plans to build 33 MW of solar to power its municipal buildings.

‘We expect solar panel prices to stabilize in the second half of the year’ At Intersolar Europe 2024, pv magazine spoke with Edurne Zoco, executive director, Clean Energy Technology at S&P Global Commodity Insights, about module price trends, increasing solar demand and PV manufacturing outside China. She claims panel prices may stabilize in the second half of this year or in early 2025 and says top seven Chinese manufacturers may even continue with capacity expansion plans. She also believes that, without further substantial incentives, Europe will not be able to recreate a domestic PV supply chain.

From pv magazine Global

From pv magazine Global

From pv magazine Germany

Meyer Burger’s new plant in Goodyear in Arizona passed the factory audit according to UL test standards without any deviations, and production can begin.

The solar cells required for module production have been delivered from the German site in Thalheim to the U.S. plant for some time now. This will continue to be the case in the future to ensure the ramp-up in the USA, Meyer Burger added.

In addition to the module factory, Meyer Burger also plans to build a cell factory in Colorado. It is not yet entirely clear when this will be able to start production. This depends on the conclusion of the 45X financing. The due diligence of a major U.S. bank on monetization in accordance with Article 45X of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been completed and negotiations on the loan agreements are currently underway.

Meyer Burger says it is aiming to complete the deal and make the payment by the middle of the third quarter. At this time, the payment of export financing by a German bank for the construction of photovoltaic production in the U.S. is also expected. The photovoltaic company has also submitted the final application for the loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to finance the cell factory. This is currently still being reviewed, says Meyer Burger.

In addition, a commercial agreement has already been negotiated with a U.S. industrial and technology group and a term sheet for a possible investment in Meyer Burger has been exchanged. This strategic cooperation would enable Meyer Burger to manufacture solar modules in the U.S. with an ever-increasing proportion of domestic components.

Meyer Burger has already signed several contracts with EPC companies and energy suppliers for the purchase of its solar modules manufactured in the U.S.. Now another purchase contract for up to 600 megawatts per year has been added with a large energy company from the U.S.. Delivery has been agreed for three years from 2026 with an extension option for two years. The agreement is to take effect when the financing of the solar cell plant in Colorado Springs is completed, Meyer Burger said.

Meyer Burger shut down its module plant in Freiberg, Saxony , in April after there was no agreement within the federal government on resilience measures for German and European photovoltaic manufacturers .

Maine may design a distribution system operator to advance distributed energy resources Maine has hired a consulting firm to evaluate whether forming a distribution system operator could speed deployment of distributed energy resources and support other state goals. Consultants are reviewing how the approach is used in five other countries.

New platform vets residential solar salespeople An industry plagued by deceptive practices is now verifying salespeople via a platform called Recheck.

Summit Ridge to procure 800 MW of Qcells solar panels The recent agreement brings the total to 2 GW of solar modules that the community solar specialist will purchase from Qcells, mostly manufactured in its facility in Georgia.

More solar installations coming to U.S. military bases In a partnership with Duke Energy valued at an estimated $248 million, the U.S. Department of Defense will be the exclusive purchaser of all output generated by two new solar facilities, which will serve five military bases.

Siting solar projects for best environmental results A new white paper from Clearloop identifies key U.S. regions for best carbon displacement impact of new clean energy projects.

Top solar panel brands in reliability, quality, and performance Solar modules are evaluated in the Renewable Energy Test Center annual PV Module Index.

pv magazine interview: ‘In the next year, some of these guys are going to be bankrupt’ At Intersolar in Munich, pv magazine spoke with Jenny Chase, solar analyst at BloombergNEF, about the incredibly low polysilicon prices, massive overcapacity, and increasing consolidation. According to Chase, this year there will be enough polysilicon capacity to produce 1.1 TW of solar modules, but global module demand is expected to reach around 585 GW. 

The Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC) released its 2024 PV Module Index report, evaluating the reliability, quality, and performance of solar panels.

Solar modules are put through a variety of accelerated stress tests to evaluate these parameters. Through comparative test results, project stakeholders can select products best suited for a particular environment, location, or portfolio.

To identify the best of the best, RETC reviewed and ranked the overall data distributions across three disciplines: quality, performance, and reliability. Find the overall top performers at the end of this report.

Reliability

Backsheet ultraviolet durability

Top performers: JA Solar, Longi Solar, SolarSpace

Backsheet ultraviolet durability (BUDT) incorporates a durability testing sequence to probe glass-on-backsheet PV module designs for vulnerabilities to UV exposure and prevent backsheet-related failures. This BUDT sequence starts with 1,000 hours of damp heat exposure to weaken polymeric bonds.

Highlighted top performers experience no backsheet cracking in the test.

Damp heat test

Top performers: Astronergy, ES Foundry, Longi Solar, Runergy, and Trina Solar

The RETC thresher test includes a damp heat test that exposes modules for 2,000 hours, double the amount required for product certification. The test evaluates a module’s ability to withstand prolonged exposure to humid, high-temperature environments. Taking place inside an environmental chamber, the test exposes modules to a controlled temperature of 85 C (185 F) and a relative humidity of 85% for a set amount of time.

RETC highlighted performers that experienced less than 2% degradation after this exposure.

Hail durability

Top performers: JA Solar, Longi Solar

RETC’s hail durability test takes UL and IEC standards testing a step further, exposing solar modules to higher kinetic impact to reflect the risk posed by hail over a 25 or 30-year operating life. In addition to ballistic impact testing, RETC runs thermal cycle and hot-spot tests to reveal potential long-term module degradation.

The top performers in this category withstood an effective kinetic energy of 20 Joules or more. These modules effectively demonstrated resistance to a 45 mm (1.8 in.) iceball traveling at a terminal velocity of 30.7 m/s (68.7 mph).

Potential induced degradation (PID) 

Top performers: Astronergy, ES Foundry, GEP VN, Gstar, JA Solar, Longi Solar, Qcells, REC Solar, Runergy, SEG Solar, Silfab Solar, SolarSpace, Talesun, Trina Solar, VSUN Solar, and Yingli Solar

Potential induced degradation (PID) resistance tests rack-mounted modules in an environmental chamber, which controls temperature and humidity and exposes them to a voltage bias of several hundred volts with respect to the mounting structure for 192 hours (PID192 exposure). PID testing characterizes a module’s ability to withstand degradation due to voltage and current leakage resulting from ion mobility between the semiconductor and other elements in module packaging.

RETC required that PV module models withstand PID192 exposure with less than 2% degradation in maximum power. At the other end of the spectrum, it considered maximum power degradation greater than or equal to 5% a red-flag result.

Static and dynamic mechanical load test

Top performers: Aptos Solar, Astronergy, ES Foundry, Gstar, JA Solar, Longi Solar, Runergy, Silfab Solar, SolarSpace, Trina Solar, and Yingli Solar

This test exposes modules to 1,000 cycles of +1,000 pascal and –1,000 pascal loads at a frequency of three to seven cycles per minute. Measurements were taken after this stress test rate electrical performance.

This year, RETC required that PV module models withstand SDML exposure with less than 2.5% degradation in maximum power. It considered maximum power degradation greater than or equal to 5% to be a red-flag result. In this testing category, it notes that 68% of samples qualified as high achievers whereas 7% returned red-flag results.

Thermal cycling

Top performers: Aptos Solar, Astronergy, ES Foundry, Gstar, JA Solar, Longi Solar, Qcells, Runergy, SolarSpace, Trina Solar, and Yingli Solar

The thermal cycle test calls for cycling modules in an environmental chamber between two temperature extremes—85 C (185 F) on the high end and –40 C (–40F)  on the low end. The RETC test runs 600 cycles, three times as much as the 200 required for certification.

About 67% of modules in this test achieved high performer status of less than 2% power loss, while 9% of tested brands had power losses of 5% or more.

Ultraviolet induced degradation (UVID)

Top performers: Trina Solar and VSUN Solar

UVID tests characterize a PV module’s ability to withstand ultraviolet induced degradation. This optional testing sequence exposes test samples to 220 kWh/m2 of UV exposure (UV220), nearly 15 times the UV exposure required for product certification.

Top performers withstand UV220 exposure with less than 2% degradation in maximum power. Red flag modules that degraded more than 5% represented 40% of brands tested.

“Alarmingly, we observed double-digit power loss in some mass-produced, commercially available PV modules, indicating that these products could degrade 10%–16% in the first three years of in-field operation,” said RETC.

Performance

Module efficiency

Top performers: Astronergy, Mission Solar, Qcells, REC Solar, and Silfab Solar

Module conversion efficiency is determined by dividing a product’s nameplate maximum power rating under standard test conditions by its total aperture area.

RETC has recognized manufacturers of PV module models with conversion efficiencies greater than 21% as test category high achievers. About 56% of tested modules were listed as high performers.

Incidence angle modifier

Top performers: Dehui Solar, ES Foundry, JA Solar, JinkoSolar, Longi Solar, Meyer Burger, Qcells, Runergy, Silfab Solar, and SolarSpace

Incidence angle modifier (IAM) is a performance characteristic that accounts for changes in PV module output based on changing sun angles relative to the plane of the array. To characterize IAM, RETC conducts electrical characterization tests at different incidence angles, ranging from 0° to 90°.

Manufacturers of PV module models with an IAM greater than 88% at a 70° angle of incidence were listed as test category high achievers.

LeTID resistance

Top performers: Astronergy, Gstar, JinkoSolar, Longi Solar, Runergy, SEG Solar, Silfab Solar, SolarSpace, Talesun, Trina Solar, VSUN Solar, Waaree, Yingli Solar

Relatively new cell technologies may experience long-term degradation associated with light exposure and elevated temperatures. This phenomenon, called light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID), is tested with a protocol of light soaking, followed by 75 C (167 F) temperature exposure for two 162-hour cycles to identify significant degradation (>5%). Subsequently, test samples are subject to 500 hours of 75 C temperature exposure followed by two additional 162-hour cycles.

Highlighted top performers demonstrated products that had less than 0.5% power loss after 486 hours of exposure.

LID resistance

Top performers: Astronergy, GEP VN, Gstar, JA Solar, JinkoSolar, Longi Solar, Meyer Burger, Qcells, Runergy, SEG Solar, Silfab Solar, SolarSpace, Talesun, Trina Solar, VSUN Solar, Waaree, and Yingli Solar

Light-induced degradation (LID), or power losses from sunlight exposure, affects some PV cell types but not others. PV modules exposed to LID losses rapidly lose performance over the first few hours or days of operation before stabilizing. RETC notes LID resistance is highly correlated with cell type.

RETC required that PV module models withstand the LID sequence with less than or equal to 0.5% degradation in maximum power.

Module efficiency

Top performers: Auxin Solar, JA Solar, Longi Solar, Meyer Burger, Mission Solar, Qcells, REC Solar, Silfab Solar, Trina Solar, Yingli Solar

Module efficiency, or the percentage of incident solar energy converted to electrical energy, is a well-known and key metric for solar performance. It is highly correlated with cell technology and module design.

The top 14 highest scoring modules scored efficiencies of 20% or more. An n-type TOPCon cell scored the highest at 25.8% efficiency, followed by a monocrystalline silicon module with heterojunction technology, recording a 22.4% efficiency.

PAN file

Summit Ridge Energy expanded its partnership with Qcells with an agreement to purchase 800 MW of solar panels.

The agreement builds on an existing 1.2 GW relationship between Qcells and Summit Ridge, announced in April of 2023 by Vice President Kamala Harris. At the time the 1.2 GW order was the largest equipment purchase in history for the community solar market.

By increasing the total commitment to 2 GW, Summit Ridge reports it will develop more than 100 additional community solar projects across the country using U.S.-made solar.

Last year Qcells announced what was then the largest investment in U.S. solar manufacturing history, investing more than $2.5  billion to build a complete solar supply chain in the United States. This made the Korean company, a subsidiary of Hanwha Solutions, the first company to establish a fully-integrated silicon-based solar supply chain in the U.S. When complete, Qcells solar panels — from polysilicon to the finished panel — will be entirely made in the U.S.

Both the build-out of Qcells U.S. manufacturing footprint and the growth of Summit Ridge Energy are incentivized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The includes tax incentives for domestic energy production as well as manufacturing. Many of Summit Ridge’s solar projects also qualify for IRA tax credits that will provide thousands of low-income households with greater access to clean energy savings.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with Qcells, which enables Summit Ridge to deliver on our promise of giving more Americans the opportunity to power their homes and businesses with locally generated clean energy,” said Brian Dunn, chief operating officer of Summit Ridge Energy. “Through our Qcells partnership, we are able to support domestic manufacturing and job creation, while simultaneously bringing low-cost clean energy to communities that have historically been left out of the clean energy transition.”

Summit Ridge’s planned fleet of community solar farms are expected to generate enough clean energy to power an estimated 200,000 homes and businesses. Since launching in 2017, the company reports that it has deployed over $2.6 billion into clean energy assets and controls a development pipeline of more than 3 GW that will provide solar power to homes and businesses nationwide.

“Expanding this relationship with Summit Ridge Energy means more communities will have access to the most affordable energy resource in the world,” said Justin Lee, CEO of Qcells. “This partnership not only supports the domestic manufacturing industry and thousands of jobs in solar, but it also ensures more people – especially those who have historically been left out – benefit from everything the clean energy economy has to offer.”

The majority of the solar panels purchased by Summit Ridge will be produced in Qcells’ new U.S. manufacturing facility located in Georgia. Additionally, Qcells will continue to provide Summit Ridge with battery storage and software solutions under separate procurement agreements.

New York policy authorizes $814.6 million to fund energy storage The new order puts the state on track to install 6 GW of energy storage by 2030.

Utility-scale solar development: Good planning makes good neighbors A recent study by Berkeley Lab, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University found that sharing plans for large-scale solar projects with local residents improves the perception of such sites.

GCL says perovskite solar module passes silicon degradation tests At Intersolar Europe, the Chinese manufacturer said the perovskite-silicon tandem module would cost 50% of a crystalline silicon module that costs $0.15 per W, meaning $0.075 per W.

A look at the prevailing wage and apprenticeship final rule Taxpayers seeking to claim the highest available investment and/or production tax credits for renewable energy projects must comply with the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements.

Spontaneous glass breakage on solar panels on the rise The National Renewable Energy Laboratory noted an increase in spontaneous glass breakage in solar panels. The PV Module Index from the Renewable Energy Test Center investigates this and other glass-related trends in solar manufacturing.

In case you missed it: Five big solar stories in the news this week  pv magazine USA spotlights news of the past week including market trends, project updates, policy changes and more.

Glass is a unique material used for its chemical stability and visual transparency. It is commonly used in solar panels as a protective outer layer.

In its annual PV Module Index, the Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC) examined emerging issues in solar glass manufacturing and field performance. It found reports of a concerning rise in solar panel glass spontaneously breaking in the field, sometimes even before commissioning.

Teresa Barnes, Ph.D., manages the Photovoltaic Reliability and System Performance Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Barnes and her colleagues at NREL reported the issue.

“Spontaneous glass breakage is an example of a failure mode that we didn’t used to see. When I first started working on solar module reliability seven or eight years ago, we mostly heard about glass breakage when there were sloppy operations and maintenance practices,” said Barnes.

Now, this is no longer the case, and the NREL reliability team is regularly receiving reports of glass breakage in silicon modules unrelated to direct damage from maintenance or storm impacts. The team found that over time, the average quality of solar glass appears to be decreasing.

“It used to be the case that modules would pass the IEC 61215 static load test with a big safety factor,” said Barnes. “Today, modules are either barely passing the base static load test or they are not passing with higher safety factors. Some new module designs are simply not passing the minimum static load test.”

The NREL team has begun to hypothesize that glass damage in solar panels is undergoing a similar process to a car windshield in need of replacement. When a windshield takes impact damage, often it only shows up as a small star-shaped mark that seems insignificant. But when extreme weather conditions with very high or low temperatures cycle through, the severity of the damage is fully realized, and suddenly a large crack is visible across the whole surface.

“We think a similar dynamic could be a root cause of spontaneous solar glass breakage,” said Barnes.

This rise in breakage is likely due to the trend solar glass getting thinner over time, said NREL. Mike Pilliod from Central Tension, who spoke at NREL’s 2024 PV Module Reliability Workshop said any manufacturer can temper glass that is 3 mm. But under 3 mm, glass tempering is a difficult process. He said that as glass gets thinner, it takes fewer defects to create strength-limiting flaws in the glass. These flaws are actively being studied by NREL to understand some of the potential pitfalls of using thin glass in solar manufacturing.

Barnes warned that it may be a combination of effects that are making glass breakage a larger threat that before. Modules are getting larger, frames are getting thinner, and mounting rails are getting closer together. All these factors lead to “large, floppy modules” that are putting more pressure on the glass surface, which is also getting thinner in many modules.

The NREL team said at this year’s PV Module Reliability Workshop, manufacturers began speaking about introducing thicker frames and wider mounting positions.

“As people better understand how the module system interacts, they can work to optimize how loads are balanced out,” said Barnes. “The pendulum in that balancing act may already be swinging back toward the integrity of the frame and the mounting rail.”

While some module providers are focused on frames and mounting, others have introduced tempered glass modules that are marketed as hail-hardened and resilient to extreme weather.

RETC asked Barnes about the recent catastrophic losses in Texas, where hailstorms caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to operational solar assets.

GCube Insurance, an underwriter for renewable energy, said despite being only 1.4% of total number of insurance claims filed, about 54% of incurred costs of total solar losses can be attributed to hail. This is based on data collected by Gcube over the past five years. Average costs totaled $58 million per claim.

“Ten years ago, people would run you out of the meeting on a rail if you mentioned climate-specific module designs. The consensus was that this would simply be too expensive,” said Barnes. “Now climate specific modules and climate-specific testing are starting to look viable because we are seeing more of an emphasis on total system costs. It is entirely possible that we could see hail-hardened modules, especially in a market like the United States, where it could be worth paying more up front for hail resilience.”

From pv magazine Global

Chinese solar module maker CGL Technology presented its latest perovskite solar module technology at the Intersolar tradeshow in Munich, Germany, this week.

“This module has met IEC testing standards that would suggest it would degrade in a pattern that is similar to standard silicon solar modules,” the company’s spokesperson, Martin Wang, told pv magazine, noting that the company expects this perovskite product to be deployed as part of a perovskite-silicon tandem solar module which will begin mass production in late 2025.

Wang also revealed that GCL perovskite modules were used in the 1 MW perovskite solar power project deployed by China Three Gorges in late 2023.

The company said the deployment of their pure perovskite module at the China Three Gorges solar project represented the state-of-field testing stage of the product. The company hopes to deploy multiple 1 MW projects before the end of the year across different geographies with different environmental traits, to test the viability of the perovskite module.

At the booth, GCL showed two perovskite solar modules: one a pure perovskite module, and the other a perovskite silicon tandem solar module. The pure perovskite module has an efficiency of just over 19%, while the tandem module’s efficiency is just over 26%.

Wang explained that the perovskite solar panel had passed TUV Rhineland IEC 61215 and IEC 61739 certification tests, which would suggest that the solar modules would degrade like a standard silicon solar panel. Wang implied that GCL was moving slowly into the market with that statement because the tests are designed to degrade silicon products, and not perovskite products.

GCL has supplied pv magazine with the IEC certification document. Further documentation to better interpret the degradation results has been requested.

The modules came from a 100 MW test line that has been in place since 2021. The majority of the modules from this test line, which totaled 10 to 15 MW in 2023, have been recycled, as the modules progressed toward units they felt were worthy of deployment.

Wang said that GCL believes the degradation of their perovskite silicon tandem module will be better than that of standard silicon modules. Starting at the end of next year, GCL will begin deploying their perovskite silicon tandem solar module.

A key detail on the product that is different from many others in the market is that the tandem aspect of the product is on a module level – not the cell level. What this means to the manufacturer is that “95% of the hard work” will have already been done in the creation of the perovskite module.

Wang also explained that combining two solar panels was a much simpler process than making a tandem solar cell, and that of the hand-crafted perovskite silicon tandem modules, the units work 95% of the time, and that once the manufacturing line is in place this value will reach near 100%.

Wang said that on a cost-per-watt basis – not expected market price – the company expected the perovskite silicon tandem module would cost 50% of a crystalline silicon module that costs $0.15 per W, meaning $0.075 per W. He said the 50% value that was used in marketing on the perovskite silicon module was done when polysilicon was more expensive, and thus modules were more expensive.

When asked by pv magazine about future efficiency gains, Wang said GCL – in this case – is a perovskite company first. “We should realize the full potential of perovskites, and we should adapt silicon to the perovskite – instead of the other way around,” he stated.

By next year, they expect the tandem module to break 27% efficiency – with greater than 30% “guaranteed”. Currently, in the tandem structure, it is the perovskite module that is contributing the majority of the efficiency, as it is generating at 19% – while the silicon is only running at 7% efficiency.

The current silicon base module used is a TOPCon unit, however, GCL believes that heterojunction will be the best long-term solution due to the product’s higher voltage.

Aiko presents ABC solar module with world record efficiency of 25.2% at Intersolar The Chinese back contact module maker said its new products rely on the company’s all-back-contact (ABC) cell technology and feature a temperature coefficient of -0.26% per C.

People on the move: Amp Energy, Deriva Energy, Atwell LLC, and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

Arizona’s largest energy storage project closes $513 million in financing The 1,200 MWh Papago Storage project will dispatch enough power to serve 244,000 homes for four hours a day with the e-Storage SolBank high-cycle lithium-ferro-phosphate battery energy storage solution. 

Scientists develop silver-free PEDOT:PSS adhesive for shingled solar cells Researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have developed a new silver-free adhesive for shingled solar cells. The novel adhesive is based the PEDOT:PSS polymer and can reportedly reduce silver consumption to approximately 6.3 mg/W.

Longi launches ultra-black HPBC solar modules for residential applications The Chinese manufacturer said its new Hi-MO X6 Artist series has an efficiency of up to 22.3% and a power output ranging from 420 W to 430 W. The smaller version is currently priced at CNY 298 ($41.7)/m2 and the largest model is sold at CNY 268/m2.

Nextracker acquires solar foundation specialist Ojjo for $119 million Ojjo makes a unique truss system that reportedly uses half the steel of a conventional foundation and a design that minimizes grading requirements.

From pv magazine Global

Chinese solar module manufacturer Longi unveiled last week a new module series based on its proprietary hybrid passivated back contact (HPBC) cell technology at the SNEC tradeshow in Shanghai, China.

The new Hi-MO X6 Artist panel is available in two versions dubbed Ultra Black and Full Black, which share the same electrical specifications.

The new products are sold with wattages ranging from 420 W to 430 W and power conversion efficiency spanning from 21.5% to 22.3%. The open-circuit voltage is between 39.45 V and 40.05 V and the short-circuit current is between 13.54 A and 13.77 A.

The modules have a temperature coefficient of -0.29%/C and a maximum system voltage of 1,500. Their size is 1,722 mm x 1,134 mm x 30 mm and their weight is 22.5 kg. They also feature IP68 junction boxes and 3.2 mm coated tempered glass.

The new products come with a 30-year linear power output warranty, with the 30-year end power output being guaranteed to be no less than 86.9% of the nominal output power.

The new modules are based on HPBC all-black cells and structured glass, which the manufacturer said ensures uniform light reflection in various directions. This feature guarantees a consistent black appearance without glare, regardless of the installation angle.

Unlike traditional solar modules priced by wattage, the Hi-MO X6 Artist is priced by square meter, facilitating easier alignment of the roof area with solar module size and simplifying cost calculations for homeowners. The version with a power output of 450 W is priced at CNY 298 ($41.7)/m2 and the 430W model is sold at CNY 268/m2.

Longi said that the Hi-MO X6 Artist module will enter mass production in the fourth quarter of this year and will be simultaneously available in all global markets.

In March, Longi launched its Hi-MO X6 Explorer and Hi-MO X6 Guardian modules. Later in late May, it presented the Hi-MO X6 Scientist panel. In June, it unveiled the Hi-MO 9 panel.

Reshore solar manufacturing but don’t stall construction with tariffs, suggests union official A leader of a union whose members work in construction and maintenance said the union supported a moratorium on tariffs on certain imported solar panels, as domestic panel output increases, to preserve opportunities in solar construction and installation.

Bill seeks to establish community solar market in Michigan Community solar projects are non-utility owned assets that allow customers to subscribe to a portion of the project’s electricity generation capacity in exchange for bill credits.

Titan Solar latest in residential solar business closures An email informed company employees that the company had ended operations.

Long-duration stability of perovskite solar cells US scientists have analyzed the impact of “seasoning” a formamidinium lead iodide solution with two-dimensional (2D) perovskites. They have found that the template improved the efficiency and durability of their solar cells.

Princeton NuEnergy scores $30 million in funding for lithium battery recycling The low-temperature plasma-assisted separation process, developed at Princeton University and now trademarked as LPAS, produces battery-grade cathode and anode materials suitable for direct reintroduction into cell manufacturing.

Soltec launches specially designed floating PV tracker Soltec has developed a floating PV tracker with pumps in the central tank for mobility and ballast, enabling operation in wind gusts above 100 km/h.

Longi claims 34.6% efficiency for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) confirmed Longi’s achievement of a world record-breaking efficiency rating of 34.6% for a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell.

From pv magazine Global

Longi announced at the SNEC tradeshow in Shanghai, China, that it has achieved a power conversion efficiency of 34.6% for a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell.

The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) has certified the results, which represent a world record for this cell typology. The previous record was held by Longi itself, which achieved an efficiency of 33.9% in November.

“We achieved this result by optimizing the thin film deposition process of the electron transport layer, developing and using high-efficiency defect passivation materials, and designing and developing high-quality interfacial passivation structures,” the company said in a statement, without providing further details.

In June, Longi reported an efficiency of 33.5% for the same cell. The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) certified the results, which represented a significant increase on its previous 31.8% efficiency rating, which was announced during last year’s SNEC edition.

Longi has broken the world record for solar cell efficiency 16 times since April 2021. It claimed the world’s highest efficiency for silicon cells in November 2022, with a 26.81% efficiency rating for an unspecified heterojunction solar cell.

Two-thirds of jobs in the solar industry are in construction and installation, versus 13% in manufacturing, said a union leader on a webinar hosted by the American Clean Power Association (ACP).

“We’re a little concerned that the “tail” of manufacturing “could wag the dog,” said Jeff Soth, legislative and political director of the International Union of Operating Engineers, referencing his union’s support for a moratorium on solar panel tariffs that support domestic solar manufacturing. “We’ve adopted the ACP position,” he said.

Chiming in, Bill Parsons, American Clean Power (ACP) senior vice president and political director, said Soth had “articulated a really important principle, which I think our member companies would subscribe to, which is a very firm desire and commitment to reshore as much of the supply chain as we can, as quickly as we can, consistent with deployment.”

“If you cut off” foreign solar panel supply “too quickly,” Parsons said, “you haven’t really helped anything. You’ve just slowed down the construction jobs and the benefits for the grid and for the economy.” Parsons said companies are faced with a dilemma, “the choice to buy stuff that doesn’t exist yet.”

Two-thirds of operating engineers work in construction, Soth said, typically operating equipment such as cranes and backhoes, while one-third are maintenance engineers. Operating engineers work across all energy industries, he said.

Union support for projects

Turning to the potential for union support of new projects, Brad Markell, principal with Clean Energy Labor Advisors, said “you see some opposition” to both utility-scale solar projects and transmission projects. Yet “local unions, that are everywhere, are a key locus for local participation,” he said. Unions can add value “early in community involvement, because union members are living in these communities, and once they understand there’s a potential project coming through their area that they would like to work on, they become advocates.”

Soth said three unions had responded to a request from the solar industry, which led to a tri-trades agreement among the unions representing “the three essential crafts to build solar generation,” namely operating engineers, electricians and laborers. “We’re in the business of meeting the needs of owners and developers,” he said, “and they demanded, frankly, a streamlined project labor agreement with the three essential crafts, and that’s what we gave them.”

Wages, apprenticeships

“The skills and productivity” of union members, Soth said, give the union “a competitive edge, and frankly, allow us to command at the negotiating table the kinds of wages and benefits that our folks receive.”

Noting that a prevailing wage requirement is a condition for receiving energy tax credits, Soth said the requirement “provides some support for our role in the workplace and ensures that the green jobs of the future are, in fact, good jobs.” Clean energy industries have struggled, he said, “to be able to demonstrate that those are family sustaining jobs, particularly in the solar industry, historically, and that’s a function of residential deployment, small projects.”

Noting that women represent less than 25% of construction workers, Soth said his union is “doing everything we can” to recruit women and people of color into the trade, including marketing apprenticeships to students in high school. The operating engineers’ union offers training and apprenticeship programs.

“Apprenticeship is the primary pathway into a career in the operating engineers,” Soth said, adding that apprenticeship is “the best kept secret in career and vocational training.” He suggested that government investment in apprenticeship preparedness would be worthwhile, such as providing young people with “an introduction into the variety of craft unions out there and the opportunities that exist in the construction business.”

Solar visionaries form ReCreate, bringing 5 GW solar module and cell manufacturing to Tennessee Dean Solon and Hamlet Tunyan, two solar industry leaders, have partnered on a new venture that will bring 5 GW of solar cells and 5 GW of solar modules to U.S. and EU markets.

In case you missed it: Five big solar stories in the news this week pv magazine USA spotlights news of the past week including market trends, project updates, policy changes and more.

2024 Outlook: What could La Niña mean for U.S. solar this year? In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, describes the possible consequences for PV plan and grid operators of a possible switch to La Niña conditions in North America.

Solar-powered bus depot features green hydrogen production The integrated microgrid will be connected to the utility, but engineered to operate indefinitely in island mode, according to developer AlphaStruxure.

New York continues long duration energy storage investments with $5M funding initiative NYSERDA is allocating $5 million to fund up to 50% of project costs for developing energy storage systems capable of operating for 10 to 100 hours, addressing key integration challenges and promoting viable economic products within New York’s energy grid.

Dean Solon, founder, CEO and president of Create Energy and Shoals Technologies Group, together with Hamlet Tunyan, CEO of RECOM Technologies, announced the launch of ReCreate. This new venture will establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Tennessee with planned production of up to 5 GW of modules and 5 GW of cells for the North American and European markets.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 has stimulated solar manufacturing in the U.S. with production tax credits for manufacturers and investment tax credits for project developers using domestic content. Wood Mackenzie estimates 144 GW of announced module manufacturing capacity, 71 GW of cell manufacturing capacity and 61 GW of wafer manufacturing capacity by 2027. Compare this to the 26 GW of module capacity we have today, along with little or no wafer or cell production, and the 5 GW of both cells and modules anticipated from ReCreate will significantly bolster supply.

The facility is located at Create Energy’s manufacturing facility in Portland, Tennessee. Create is a U.S.-based renewable energy company founded by Solon that produces products ranging from transformers, switchgear, PV, BESS, and EV solutions as well as full turnkey EPC services. Solon is renowned for his creative leadership in the renewable energy industry, bringing over 30 years of experience driving engineering, innovation and manufacturing growth in both the U.S. and global markets.

“We’re excited to ignite the rocket engines on this new venture and deliver high-quality, American-made solar solutions,” said Solon. “At Create Energy, our mission is to ReCreate the renewables market and offer comprehensive solutions for solar, BESS, and eMobility projects. ReCreate will set the standard for the solar module and cell markets.”

Tunyan, well known in the European renewables sector, has decades of expertise in clean-tech manufacturing, project investments and development. RECOM Technologies is a module, cell, inverter, hybrid storage systems, batteries, and electrical vehicle (EV) charger manufacturer. The  company integrates R&D, manufacturing and distribution, with an annual production capacity exceeding 3.2 GW and sales in over 110 countries.

Speaking on the partnership with Solon, Tunyan said, “This project represents a significant advancement in our commitment to renewable energy and innovation. By manufacturing in the USA, we are supporting the local economy and setting new industry standards. Partnering with Dean Solon, whose expertise and vision are unparalleled, enhances our capacity to deliver exceptional solar solutions and drive meaningful change in the energy sector.”

Swift Solar announced the close of its $27 million Series A financing round, which follows on the heels of a $7 million award from the Department of Energy under the Advancing U.S. Thin-Film Solar Photovoltaics funding program.

The company, founded in 2017 is a spinout of MIT, Stanford University and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and specializes in perovskite tandem photovoltaics. The new technology combines metal halide perovskites with silicon or other perovskites to make tandem cells that have higher efficiency than traditional solar cells.

The $27 million funding round was co-led by Eni Next and Fontinalis Partners. Also joining the round are new and existing investors including Stanford University, Good Growth Capital, BlueScopeX, HL Ventures, Toba Capital, Sid Sijbrandij, James Fickel, Adam Winkel, Fred Ehrsam, Jonathan Lin, and Climate Capital.

The $7 million DOE funding is part of a $71 million investment, including $16 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which supports research, development and demonstration projects in order to help grow the domestic solar supply chain. Swift Solar was one of four awardees that are working on tandem PV devices that pair established PV technologies like silicon and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) with perovskites.

In total, Swift Solar has raised $44 million to scale its technology as it prepares to break ground on its first manufacturing facility.

“Solar is the future of energy—not just clean energy,” said Joel Jean, co-founder and CEO of Swift Solar. “Our advanced perovskite solar cells can outperform anything currently available on the market.”

A novel vapor deposition technology may help it to accelerate the manufacture of its tandem solution. The new method is a non-batch process that solves two problems associated with the use of established vapor processing in perovskite material manufacturing – the slow speed of deposition and the non-continuous nature of batch processing.

“Our deposition approach allows for the continuous deposition of a fully absorbing perovskite material within less than five minutes,” corresponding author Tobias Abzieher from Swift Solar, a U.S.-based perovskite PV startup, told pv magazine. “Solar cells prepared with these materials also outperform previously realized efficiencies of vapor processed inorganic perovskite solar cells significantly.”

In its announcement, Swift Solar noted that perovskite solar cell production uses less material and less energy, which should drive down manufacturing costs and carbon pollution, potentially decreasing the cost of solar by up to 30%. “The perovskite supply chain could be based entirely in the United States and aligned countries, creating a major opportunity to expand domestic manufacturing,” according to Swift.

Swift Solar’s initial products will be designed for integration in high-performance solar-powered products such as on car rooftops or space-based satellites, and the company says it will also serve traditional solar customers.

Swift Solar was recently named one of TIME’s Top GreenTech Companies in America. In April, The Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition announced the Swift Solar was a new member.

This article was amended to remove mention of company developing rooftop product.

Maxeon Solar Technologies conducted a competitive assessment of its Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) solar panels, finding confirmation of their resilience against damaging hotspots.

The company has developed its IBC solar panels for 40 years. It tested its Maxeon 7 line of panels against a series of competing technologies including half-cell ribbon-based back contact, half-cell heterojunction (HJT), and half-cell front contact tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) panels. Panels were tested in full sun and then transitioned to partial shading, a condition that forces cells to begin converting power from surrounding cells into heat.

Maxeon found that based on the characteristics of IBC cells, including diode functionality, uniform heating, and lower breakdown voltage, IBC panels like Maxeon 7 exhibit more favorable performance under partial shade compared to other module technologies like PERC and HJT.

IBC panels were found to mitigate the long-term degradation risk of panel materials by better minimizing that heat build-up in shaded cells—staying an average of 67 °C (153 °F) cooler than the ribbon-based back contact, HJT and TOPCon technologies tested.

The Maxeon whitepaper explains hotspot risks:

A solar panel maximizes its energy generation potential when each cell within an electrical string maintains the same current. When a cell can’t match the current of its neighbors, usually due to the presence of shading or cell cracks, it begins consuming power from surrounding cells and converting it to heat—also known as operating in a state of reverse bias. As cell temperatures rise, hotspots can form in the vicinity of the obstruction. Hotspots are very concentrated areas of heat energy that can reach extreme temperatures—temperatures high enough to degrade panel materials by burning the encapsulant and back sheet, as well as damage cells and glass.

Maxeon’s research and development team also tested the resilience of panels to heat build-up after deactivating the panels’ bypass diode, the primary defense mechanism of standard solar panels against hotspots. It found that the IBC panels continued to limit heat build-up even after deactivating the bypass diode.

“Solar panel manufacturers should continue to pursue improved product design—technology risk shouldn’t be the customer’s burden to bear,” said Matt Dawson, chief technology officer, Maxeon. “We believe many of today’s manufacturers are sacrificing product reliability in the pursuit of higher power and efficiency. High performance solar panels truly maximize lifetime customer value when they can match that performance with low degradation and long-term reliability.”

Find the IBC hotspot resilience whitepaper here.

Anza, a solar and energy storage supply chain platform, Q2 Pricing Insights Report aggregates data from 95% of the U.S. solar module supply year to date to provide pricing changes that result from market forces and regulatory changes. With the Q2 report on the U.S. solar module market shows the first price increase in years. Anza attributes this to the latest AD/CVD petition and reinstatement of bifacial import duties.

“After years of record low pricing, we’re seeing the market start to rebound as domestic manufacturers have less pricing pressure from foreign producers that are subject to tariffs,” said Mike Hall, CEO of Anza. “We’re expecting to see this upward price trend continue from here, making it critical for new projects to consider current pricing and potential tariff impacts when sourcing materials.”

Anza’s Q2 report looks at module pricing trends from March to May 2024 and finds that while there was a downward pricing trend in March and April, prices bounced up in May.

Looking at the period from February to May 2024, the median module price dropped from 27.9 cents per watt to 25 cents per watt, marking an 11% decrease. The most substantial change occurred between February and March 2024, when prices fell by 2.5 cents or 8.6%.

The report noted that while TOPCon prices remained steady from January to February, they dropped right alongside PERC through April. Anza attributes advancements in TOPCon manufacturing and increased competition from foreign suppliers as driving these price declines.

Then in May, following the AD/CVD petition, prices began to rise again at about 2%. Anza report authors acknowledge that while this is only a small increase, it is significant because it is the first time since late 2022 that prices have increased.

The report drills trend data down to a weekly basis, which that the median price dropped to 24 cents per watt the week of April 22, hitting what Anza suggests is the pricing floor. Since that time prices have climbed back and held at 25 cents per watt through the end of May; an increase of 4%. Anza anticipates that this upward trend due to the looming AD/CVD petition.

The report contends that “new solar module tariffs and regulatory changes have materially affected pricing, though we are only starting to see early signs of those impacts”.

The tariffs referred to include the new bifacial tariff as well as the looming fallout from an AD/CVD petition officially filed on April 24, 2024, against Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The report notes that while preliminary antidumping determinations for this case are not expected until Q4 of this year, additional duties could be applied retroactively as early as May or June 2024.

AD/CVD laws assess tariffs on goods that are found to be dodging import duties by dumping products in other countries before shipping them to the U.S. In the previous AD/CVD proceeding, four Southeastern Asian countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, which were responsible for roughly 80% of the U.S. supply of solar components, were alleged as potentially harboring dumped products from China.

The recent AD/CVD petition filed by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, which includes First Solar, Qcells, Meyer Burger, REC Silicon, and others, claims that the U.S. “manufacturing renaissance” is threatened by heavily subsidized Chinese cells and modules.

Anza’s quarterly Pricing Insights Report looks at the impact of both government incentive programs, such as the IRA, and AD/CVD tariffs—in addition to the recently reinstated tariffs on bifacial solar modules, which generate electricity on both sides of the panel. Bifacial solar modules were previously exempt from tariffs, and the removal of the exemption reinstates a 15% tariff.

The report also compares Tier 1 module pricing to that of Non-Tier 1, and finds that the gap between the two has closed in the near term. The report finds that Tier 1 module prices dropped from 29 cents per watt to 25 cents per watt, marking a 14.8% decrease. Meanwhile, Non-Tier 1 module prices fell from 25 cents to 24 cents per watt, a 4.1% reduction.

In 2023 Anza was spun out of Borrego Solar after Borrego developed the solar and battery storage online marketplace and optimization solution. The proprietary software that drives the digital marketplace identifies the most optimized solar module and storage components based on customer-provided project details.

Wood Mackenzie has released its PV module manufacturer rankings for 2023. The company said it evaluated 30 manufacturers on nine criteria: manufacturing experience, manufacturing capacity, vertical integration, capacity utilization rates, technology maturity, R&D, financial conditions, adherence to environmental social governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR), and availability of third-party certifications.

JA Solar grabbed the top spot in the rankings with a score of 82.9, followed by Trina Solar with 81.7, JinkoSolar with 80.8, Canadian Solar with 78.5, and Longi and Risen sharing the fifth position with 78.0. The other six positions were taken by Tongwei with 77.6, Astronergy with 76.3,  Hanwha Qcells with 75.8, DMEGC with 74.1, Elite Solar with 71.4, and Boviet Solar with 71.2.

“Eight out of the 12 ranked module manufacturers are self-sufficient in cell capacity,” WoodMac said in a statement. “Tongwei and Risen are the only manufacturers in the ranking that are fully vertically integrated through the whole supply chain from polysilicon to module.”

The research firm also reveals that seven of the top 10 manufacturers could exceed 100 GW of annual module production capacity by 2027, with their combined cell capacity reaching 830 GW by the end of 2026. It also noted that all of the manufacturers continue to expand their capacity, despite massive overcapacity in the market.

“At the same time, manufacturers are focused on becoming more vertically integrated,” said Wood Mackenzie.

The list was scored via nine weighted criteria:

Bosch unveils water source heat pumps for residential, commercial applications  Bosch Home Comfort has presented two new heat pumps series that can be used for both retrofits and new buildings. Both products have a size of a size of ½ to 6 tons and a coefficient of performance of up to 4.9.

Community solar increases energy equity, report finds For the first time research looks at data about households adopting community solar along with policy that promotes outreach, and the results confirm that coalition efforts are beneficial.

U.S. solar trade case moves forward The U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously voted that solar cell manufacturing in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, supported by local incentives, is harming U.S. industry. This decision paves the way for the Commerce Department to finalize its determinations on Countervailing Duties by July 18 and Anti-Dumping duties by October 1.

Empowering multifamily housing with Solar for All grants As multifamily housing emerges as a key player in the solar revolution, it is poised to not only benefit from but also drive positive change in the clean energy landscape.

Longi presents 24.4%-efficient 660 W HPBC solar panel Intended for applications in utility-scale PV projects, the new Hi-MO 9 module is available in eight versions with power output ranging from 625 W to 660 W and power conversion efficiency spanning from 23.1% to 24.4%.

More states now require smart inverters, enabling more distributed solar Pennsylvania and Minnesota have joined six other states in requiring smart inverters for distributed solar and storage. Certain utilities in 13 states and Puerto Rico also require smart inverters, while six states are considering the requirement. Smart inverters enable more solar on distribution circuits.

From pv magazine global

Chinese solar module manufacturer Longi unveiled a new module series based on its proprietary hybrid passivated back contact (HPBC) cell technology.

“Longi’s first-generation BC products were primarily positioned for the rooftop market, but the second generation of BC is entirely different,” the company said in a statement. “The Hi-MO 9 panel is mainly positioned for the ground-mounted utility market.”

The new product is available in eight versions with power output ranging from 625 W to 660 W and power conversion efficiency spanning from 23.1% to 24.4%. The open-circuit voltage is between 53.30 V and 54.00 V and the short-circuit current is between 14.85 A and 15.41 A.

The double-glass modules have a temperature coefficient of -0.28%/C and a maximum system voltage of 1,500. Their size is 2,382 mm x 1,134 mm x 30 mm and their weight is 33.5 kg. They also feature IP68 junction boxes, an anodized aluminum alloy frame, and 2.0 mm coated tempered glass.

The new products come with a 12-year product warranty and a 30-year linear power output warranty, with the 30-year end power output being guaranteed to be no less than 88.85% of the nominal output power.

“In the second-generation BC product, the company has comprehensively optimized the bifaciality issue,” the company said, noting that the bifaciality factor cannot generally be very outstanding in back contact technologies. “However, taking this into full consideration, the overall life-cycle power generation capability we display now an improvement of 6% to 8%,” it added, without providing more details.

The company has not revealed yet all the technical aspects of its HPBC cell technology. It previously said it’s an extension of p-type interdigitated back-contact (IBC) technology that combines the structural advantages of PERC, TOPCon, and IBC solar. Additionally, BC technology can be combined with p-type wafers, for which Longi has substantial production capacities, giving it an advantage over the more common IBC technology.

In March, Longi launched its Hi-MO X6 Explorer and Hi-MO X6 Guardian modules, and last week it introduced the Hi-MO X6 Scientist panel.

Total U.S. solar module manufacturing capacity grows by 71% in Q1 2024 According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q2 2024 report, solar module manufacturing production capacity increased by over 11 GW.

World’s largest solar plant goes online in China  China Green Development Group has switched on the 3.5 GW Midong solar project in Urumqi, China’s Xinjiang region. The project required an investment of CNY 15.45 billion ($2.13 billion).

U.S. commercial real estate to host VPP-connected flywheels and batteries U.S.-based technology provider Torus has agreed to supply nearly 26 MWh of energy storage for Gardner Group’s commercial real estate portfolio. The project will integrate battery and flywheel energy storage systems (BESS, FESS) with Torus’ proprietary energy management platform.

Solar panel import tariffs are affecting the industry by increasing prices by up to 286% Clean Energy Associates released a summary of the seven solar module trade policies and solar panel import tariffs currently in place, including AD/CVD rulings, Section 201/302, and the Uyghur Protection Act. These tariffs have significantly increased, or will increase, the cost of hardware imports into the United states – predominantly from China, but not exclusively – by 91% to 286%.

IEA urges countries to accelerate renewables deployment A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that the world could miss out on a target of 11,000 GW of global renewables capacity by the end of the decade, as agreed at COP28. It also predicts that solar will become the world’s largest source of installed renewable capacity, surpassing hydropower.

California bill amends ruling that gutted value of solar for multi-meter properties If approved, SB 1374 would give schools, farms, apartments and other multi-meter properties “the same treatment” as single-family homes in solar crediting and billing structures.

The  U.S. Solar Market Insight Q2 2024 report says 11 GW of new solar module manufacturing capacity came online in the United States during Q1 2024, the largest quarter of solar manufacturing growth in American history.

The report, released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, estimates that total U.S. solar module manufacturing capacity now exceeds 26 GW annually.

In addition to solar manufacturing, the U.S. is also quickly ramping up solar installations. With 11.8 GW of new solar capacity installed thus far in 2024, total capacity now stands at 200 GW in the United States. The utility-scale segment alone accounts for nearly 10 GW of the new capacity added.

The report shows that the U.S. added over 40 GW of new solar capacity last year, and Wood Mackenzie now projects that the U.S. is on target to achieve the same goal in 2024.

“This quarter proves that new federal investments in clean energy are revitalizing American manufacturing and strengthening our nation’s energy economy,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “Whether it’s a billion-dollar investment in a nearby solar project or a new manufacturing plant employing hundreds of local workers, the solar and storage industry is uplifting communities in every state across this country.”

The report points to Florida and Texas as leaders in new solar capacity in Q1. Florida installed 2.7 GW in Q1 and Texas 2.6 GW. California, historically a solar leader, falls into third place with 1.4 GW of new installs; however, it is notable that in 2023, Texas installed nearly 12 GW, while California was about 6.4 GW. New Mexico is another leading market with 686 MW installed in Q1, with Ohio following close behind at 546 MW. Bringing up the bottom is North Dakota, Alabama and Alaska.

“The U.S. solar industry continues to show strength in terms of deployments,” said Michelle Davis, head of global solar at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report. “At the same time, the solar industry faces a number of challenges to its continued growth including availability of labor, high voltage equipment constraints, and continued trade policy uncertainty.”

The residential solar segment has been hard hit by high interest rates and unsupportive state policies. California, where the highly controversial NEM 3.0 went into effect, experienced its worst quarter in two years. Overall the residential sector installed 1.3 GWdc in Q1, reflecting a 25% decline year-over-year and 18% quarter-over-quarter but going forward residential solar is expected to be steady.

Commercial solar showed 23% growth in 2023 and expected to grow by another 14% in 2024. This sector is somewhat buoyed by California projects that were submitted under NEM 2.0 still being in the interconnection queue.

Looking at community solar, installations resulted in 279 MWdc of new capacity in Q1, with New York topping the charts at 17% year-over-year in Q1 2024, making up 46% of national installed capacity.

Again, state policy changes in California are punching holes in a previously growing market. As a result of the CPUC’s vote on AB 2316, the report authors revised their five-year outlook for California and now expects just 200 MW rather than the 1.5 GW—an 87% decline. Overall the community solar market is expected to grow 4% in 2024, exceeding 1.3 GWdc of annual capacity.

Questions and challenges

With many unanswered questions about tariffs on imported solar modules and other components, the report contends that a tariff increase will not have a significant direct impact on the U.S. solar industry, given that the U.S. is importing less than 0.1% from China at the present time.

Moving forward, the report’s five-year outlooks expects the U.S. industry to install around 40 GWdc a year for the next five years. Trade policy uncertainty coupled with shortages in workers as well as high-voltage equipment, will keep overall growth in the single digits through 2029. The five year projection, however, is for U.S. solar capacity to grow to 438 GW by 2029.

Solar module reliability ranked in scorecard  The independent test lab Kiwa PVEL names 53 manufacturers and 388 models–a record number of Top Performers in the ten-year history of the Scorecard.

Building public trust around large-scale solar energy projects  The Department of Energy awards $9.5 million to four projects intended to learn about best community engagement practices for solar siting and permitting.

ITRPV says solar module prices fell 50% in 2023 The new edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaic (ITRPV), published this week, reveals that the world’s installed PV capacity reached 1.6 TW at the end of last year. The learning curve, which reflects average module prices relative to cumulative shipments, is 24.9% for the period from 1976 to 2023.

Freight costs edge toward pandemic levels, hitting solar module costs  Freight costs, which represent around 4% of a solar module’s total costs, are increasing on trade lines between the Far East and the US West Coast, Northern Europe, and Mediterranean region.

People on the move: Wood Mackenzie, Borrego, Skydweller Aero and more  Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

Former U.S. nuclear weapon test site to host solar energy projects The Department of Energy will develop a 400 MW solar array at the Idaho National Laboratory site, large enough to power about 70,00 homes.

PV Evolution Labs (PVEL), an independent test lab for the downstream solar industry and member of the Kiwa Group, published its 2024 PV Module Reliability Scorecard. This 10^th edition of the Scorecard names 388 model types of PV modules from 53 manufacturers as Top Performers in PVEL’s testing, the most in the company’s history. Last year the Scorecard named 250 model types among 35 manufacturers.

Kiwa PVEL uses the Product Qualification Program (PQP) to provide the solar industry with empirical data for PV module benchmarking and project-level energy yield and financial modules to identify top performing PV modules.

The PQP was expanded in the fall of 2023 with a new test to address concerns around ultraviolet induced degradation (UVID). It also refocused the hail stress sequence (HSS) on identifying the threshold of glass breakage and modified the mechanical stress sequence (MSS) to target module mechanical durability concerns.

In addition to expanded PQP testing, other updates to the Scorecard include a new Top Performer category for hail, highlighting modules that did not experience glass breakage with ≥40 mm hail, and a higher bar for LID+LETID and PAN Top Performers, with a raised threshold for Top Performer qualification as technologies have improved,

This year’s Scorecard is emphasizing manufacturers who are Top Performers in multiple categories, providing key takeaways on the impacts of various cell technologies and module designs, and offering a deep dive—for the first time– into Kiwa PVEL’s Incidence Angle Modifier (IAM) test results.

“Our 2024 Scorecard showcases strong results across a diverse group of solar module manufacturers, which reflects the excellence and growth we have observed in PV manufacturing in recent years.” said Kevin Gibson, managing director of Kiwa PVEL. “For over a decade, we’ve tested assumptions about solar module reliability and performance while continuing to refine our methodology as the industry continues to innovate with new technologies and module designs. We’re proud that we’re still setting a high bar for manufacturers and providing downstream buyers with the crucial information they need to make educated procurement decisions.”

This partial list shows for which tests each manufacturer achieved Top Performer status with one or more models. Kiwa PVEL noted that in some cases, test results for some test categories were not available at the time of Scorecard publication. Manufacturers are listed by the number of tests, followed by the number of years they have been designated a Top Performer, in alphabetical order. Click here to find model numbers. The full list of Top Performers is a searchable database, where results can be filtered by PQP test, manufacturer name, module type, cell technology, and more.

“With over 50,000 unique visitors to the 2023 edition, our Scorecard is the industry’s go-to resources for module reliability insights. While we applaud the advances in manufacturing and the number of Top Performers listed, we remind buyers to remain vigilant,” said Tristan Erion-Lorico, vice president of sales and marketing at Kiwa PVEL. “We encourage them to explore each page of the Scorecard to better understand the range of test results that we’re seeing every day at Kiwa PVEL’s labs.”

Notable in this year’s test results is that 66% of module manufacturers experience at least one test failure, which Kiwa PVEL said is the highest percentage ever reported.

With the extreme weather events wreaking havoc on some solar installations in recent months, the new Top Performer category for hail shines a spotlight on how the hail testing is performed. Kiwa PVEL focuses almost exclusively for 2.0 mm glass//glass and 3.2 mm glass//backsheet, but results showed that three tested BOMs of 2.5 mm glass//glass showed no glass breakage with 50 mm hail. Kiwa PVEL noted that while glass breakage typically is not considered a Scorecard “failure,” some manufacturers required multiple retests of the same hail diameter before achieving the desired hail test performance, and three manufacturers had modules where the junction box lid fell off due to hail impacts.

To be eligible for the 2024 Scorecard, manufacturers must have completed the PQP sample production factory witness after October 1, 2022, and submitted at least two factory-witnessed PV module samples to all PQP reliability tests, as per Kiwa PVEL’s BOM test requirements.

Kiwa PVEL, a testing lab for downstream solar project developers, financiers, and asset owners around the world, is part of the Kiwa Group.

Access the Scorecard here.

Has the Inflation Reduction Act bolstered the U.S. solar supply chain?  Wood Mackenzie is tracking the capacity that manufacturers have announced will come online in the U.S.; however, three challenges remain including a balance of materials, pricing and tariffs.

RFP alert: CAISO and TID seek renewable energy and storage projects Using the Ascend Analytics Energy Exchange, Turlock Irrigation District announces a request for proposals to meet its California Renewable Portfolio Standards and reliability goals.

A new federal transmission rule won’t help renewables projects anytime soon Although promptly deploying grid-enhancing technologies and advanced conductors could speed interconnection in the short term, a new federal transmission rule will improve interconnection only once new transmission is built, said panelists on a webinar.

ABB launches smart panel for home energy management In partnership with Lumin, the company released an electric panel with software for controlling solar, batteries, EV chargers, and more.

Researchers build 24.4%-efficient perovskite solar cells with room temperature process Researchers from the U.S. and South Korea have developed a method to make high-quality perovskite films at room temperature. The film was tested in a conventional perovskite solar cell architecture and the result was a power conversion efficiency of exceeding 24%.

Startup uses agricultural waste to produce low-cost, safe batteries U.S.-based start-up SorbiForce uses no toxic products or metals in production of its batteries. It claims its systems are cheaper and safer than lithium-ion batteries and have near zero end-of-life waste.

Solar carport to provide 100% electricity needs for Los Angeles Six Flags  Recom Technologies was selected as the solar panel provider for the 12 MW solar carport.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 sets forth both demand and supply-side incentives to encourage solar manufacturing within the U.S., both in the form of production tax credits for manufacturers and investment tax credits for project developers using domestic content. While these incentives have driven a rush of investments on U.S. lands in from major global solar component providers, Wood Mackenzie takes a look at whether the IRA is paying off in terms of growing a supply chain that includes solar components such as wafers, cells, modules and more.

According to Michelle Davis, head of global solar at Wood Mackenzie, the IRA has successfully promoted domestic solar manufacturing investment. Wood Mac is looking at 144 GW of announced module manufacturing capacity, 71 GW of cell manufacturing capacity and 61 GW of wafer manufacturing capacity by 2027. Compare this to the 26 GW of module capacity we have today, along with no wafer or cell production.

But announced versus expected are two different things, and several challenges put the buildout at risk. Wood Mac predicts only about 45% of module capacity, 25% of cell capacity, and 5% of wafer capacity will come to fruition.

According to Davis, “Some investments will fall through and less experienced companies won’t have the expertise and wherewithal to execute on their plans”.

The first challenge, she notes, is seen in the discrepancy between the capacity of modules being produced in the U.S. compared to cells and wafer. As a result, the domestic industry will continue to rely on imports for these upstream materials.

While announced capacity of 71 GW of cell manufacturing and 61 GW of wafer manufacturing could come online by 2027, cell and wafer facilities are much more expensive and complex plants to build. Davis said that because the likelihood of success is lower than with module manufacturing plants, the U.S. solar industry will continue to rely on imported cells and wafers.

The second challenge, according to Davis, is that very few of the “other” solar components are made in the U.S. and this includes glass, backsheets, frames, junction boxes and more. As demand increases, capacity will grow—but it will take time.

One example is U.S. dependence on aluminum module frames, which are mostly imported from East and Southeast Asia, and the report notes that they are all made from carbon-intensive aluminum. A report produced by Wood Mackenzie and Origami Solar, a manufacturer of steel frames, says that if the U.S. solar industry switched from aluminum to recycled steel frames, it would no longer be dependent on foreign imports because “the  massive, well-established U.S. steel industry is positioned to easily meet the demand of domestic manufacturers with a more reliable, durable, less carbon-intensive, and readily available product”.

A third challenge is price. With overseas manufacturers expanding stockpiles, oversupply is causing steep price competition, according to Davis, and U.S. manufacturers are selling modules at a loss to compete.

In response to the price competition, the Department of Commerce initiated its investigation for alleged antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) infractions in Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia. Historically, tariffs have ranged as high as 50% to 250% of the cost of shipped goods. The International Trade Commission (ITC) must make a preliminary determination by June 10, 2024, on whether the domestic industry has suffered injury from import of dumped goods.

These issues and challenges will be discussed in the upcoming Wood Mackenzie’s Solar and Energy Storage Summit June 12 to 13 in San Francisco.

REC Group announced it has released a new solar module for commercial and industrial rooftop and ground mount solar projects in the United States. The series of solar panels is named the REC Alpha Pro M Series.

The Alpha Pro M Series has 610 W to 640 W peak power output modules with heterojunction cell technology (HJT). Find the full specification sheet here.

REC has been developing HJT technology since 2019. HJT competes with TOPCon solar cells, which are another leading innovation in the global solar module market. TOPCon cells make use of a single material for its solar cells, while HJT cells layer both crystalline silicon and amorphous thin-film silicon.

“While the majority of solar panel manufacturers have moved to TOPCon as a quick and simple successor to PERC technology to offer some incremental efficiency gains, HJT is considered a real pioneering technology, presenting the biggest potential for efficiency leaps in the near future,” said REC Group. “In fact, all recently achieved world records for cell efficiency in the lab are based on HJT.”

REC’s new Alpha Pro M Series is produced in Singapore. The modules sport 22.5% efficiency and come with a performance warranty of at least 92% in year 25. Each module is made of 120 half-cut bifacial HJT cells.

“For almost 30 years, REC has strived to combine high-efficiency technology with sustainable business practices,” said Cary Hayes, president of REC Americas. “While high efficiencies will remain the number one criterion for choosing solar panels, longevity and sustainability should be considered if companies are serious about their environmental and social footprint.”

The company reports a temperature coefficient of -0.24%/K, ensuring stable energy output even in high-temperature conditions. The module has a 1.2 inch thin frame, which the company said enables convenient transportation, reducing costs and improving logistics efficiency.

U.S. scientists develop air-bridge thermophotovoltaic cells with 44% efficiency  U.S. scientists have developed a thermophotovoltaic cell that could be paired with inexpensive thermal storage to provide power on demand. The indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) thermophotovoltaic cell absorbs most of the in-band radiation to generate electricity, while serving as a nearly perfect mirror.

Guaranteed and transferable tax benefits will make the PV industry too big to fail  Trina Solar executive says policies in the Inflation Reduction Act will make or break the future of solar in the U.S.

Largest solar project in Wyoming moves forward  The $1.2 billion Cowboy solar project will be built by Enbridge, with 771 MW expected to be fully operational by 2027.

21 states accept the grid modernization challenge The Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment initiative aims to shore up the U.S. energy grid to prepare for both challenges and opportunities in the power sector.

Battery energy storage tariffs tripled; domestic content rules updated Breaking down U.S. market impacts on energy storage from recent policy changes with insights from Clean Energy Associates.

Texas is the proving ground for a new way of electric grid operation Texas is uniquely suited to adopt virtual power plant technology due to its competitive, deregulated market. Its success highlights the “perverse incentive” of vertically integrated utilities in other states to make capital expenditures without discretion to raise profits.

Robert Gibbons, Strategic Development Manager at Trina Solar US, entered the world of photovoltaics about three years ago, coming from the oil and gas industry. Fossil fuel projects were becoming less common and a new universe seemed to be opening for renewable energy with the pending Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Despite its rather misleading name, the IRA is a massive federal support mechanism for renewable energy.

“One of the biggest benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act has been raising the visibility of tax policy on prospective solar projects,” Gibbons told pv magazine USA. “When’s the last time you’ve had a 10 -year time frame where you feel pretty good that these tax credits are going to be there, right?”

The federal solar tax credit of the 2010s, which along with inexpensive China-source PV panels, energized the solar industry in the U.S. With that tax credit set to expire, Congress increased it from 26% to 30% and extended it through 2032.

Gibbons added that the IRA has come along at a time when just putting projects together has become that much more difficult because of a combination of rising interest rates and what he calls the structural constraints of longer interconnection queues. He said his 30 years in financing, mainly of infrastructure projects, a lot of which were for the oil and gas industry, has given him a good understanding of what is needed to move projects forward, especially during difficult economic times.

While critics point to the money being set aside under the IRA as being itself inflationary, Gibbons is more sanguine on the law’s positive effects, which he said helps enable effective and profitable solar projects to get the green light. He pointed out that an important element of the IRA is its provision for the transferability of tax credits.

In the proposal stage, solar projects may seem like a house of cards. A successful project needs a developer to oversee the design, engineering, land acquisition, legal issues and financing. Financers, in particular, want to know there are going to be guaranteed off-takers for the electricity generated. In addition, there has to be a dependable supply chain to equipment manufacturers and possibly resellers. Today, the availability of tax credits can make the difference in whether a proposed solar project is viable or not.

“We do not advise clients on how to manage a project to get the various tax credit adders,” Gibbons said, emphasizing that this was not Trina’s role. “However, with the transferability of tax credits under the IRA, we and our partners can buy these and provide clients with confidence in a project’s economics.”

Recent guidance from the Internal Revenue Service outlines the domestic content credit a clean energy project may receive for incorporating equipment manufactured in the United States. Because of the surge in interest in U.S. manufactured solar modules, Trina Solar US is building a 5 GW capacity solar module manufacturing facility in Wilmer, Texas. Gibbons said Trina moved quickly on the opportunity to develop the facility, which will produce PV components as well as assemble modules from components produced in China.

“We had a lot of interest on behalf of our clients in using modules from that facility,” Gibbons said. “Not only because of domestic content benefits, but wanting to also support the development of solar manufacturing in the U.S.”

As much as Gibbons appreciates the tangible benefits of the IRA and IRS rules to the U.S. solar industry, he is also cognizant that politics cannot be counted on forever to support PV and other renewable energy projects. The recent laws and rules have been key, he asserts, but at some point the industry will have to stand on its own. Yet at the same time, it may be too big to fail.

“The IRA starts to phase out and it’s gone by 2032,” Gibbons said. “At that point, we should have a large, sustainable solar generation and manufacturing industry, right? And if it needs more help after that, what politician is going to want to get in front of that and put an end to it?”

In recent weeks the U.S. government has announced loans and funding to bolster its domestic solar supply chain, which will also secure jobs, stimulate local economies and support national security interests.

Most recently the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $71 million investment, including $16 million from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for research and development projects that seek to address early gaps in the solar supply chain. Silfab Solar is one of seven awardees of funding for projects that are intended to advance dual-use PV technologies to electrify buildings, decarbonize the transportation sector and reduce land-use conflicts.

Silfab Solar, a Toronto-headquartered solar cell and module manufacturer with a facility in South Carolina, was awarded $5 million for a project that will develop back-contact N-type cells to demonstrate efficiencies of 26% or better.

Silfab is developing these cells on a 300 MW pilot line, which will operate alongside Silfab’s main N-type cell manufacturing at its South Carolina facility. The company reports that the project will enable rapid scale-up of cost effective, back-contact cell technology into high-volume manufacturing of its next line of solar modules.

The company announced last September that it was investing $150 million in a cell manufacturing site in a 785,000 square foot facility in York County, South Carolina facility that is expected to have an annual capacity of 1 GW of cell production and 1.2 GW of module production. Expected to bring 850 jobs to the area, the project was awarded a $2 million Set-Aside grant by the Coordinating Council for Economic Development in York County.

The DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) also selected Silfab for a separate innovation award to further develop high efficiency building-integrated PV (BIPV) modules. These modules have opaque glass and can be used in the glazed surfaces between the floors of commercial buildings where transparent glass windows are not needed. The $500,000 project will be demonstrated at Silfab’s plant in Washington.

“Silfab Solar is leading the way in U.S. integration of innovative solar cells and modules by investing in the research and development that allows us to deliver the most advanced, powerful and reliable PV solar for commercial, residential and soon, BIPV customers,” said Paolo Maccario, Silfab President and CEO. “The DOE awards are a testament to Silfab’s commitment to innovation and to the strength of our engineering team to deliver significant advancements in solar technologies.”

The SETO program requires that its beneficiaries provide community benefits in the project locations. To that end, Silfab has begun several efforts including a series of workforce development initiatives and school outreach programs to encourage youth to consider careers in renewable energy.

(Read more about onshoring U.S. solar manufacturing here.)

The United States is making efforts to onshore its solar component manufacturing supply chain, securing domestic jobs, stimulating local economies, and supporting national security interests.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 sets forth both demand and supply-side incentives to encourage solar manufacturing within the U.S., both in the form of production tax credits for manufacturers and investment tax credits for project developers using domestic content. While these incentives have driven a rush of investments on U.S. lands in from major global solar component providers, much of the investment has been focused on the final legs of the solar supply chain.

A large amount of solar mounting solutions, racking, and trackers, as well as finished solar panels, known as modules, are made in the U.S., with new factory openings announced quite frequently in the two years since IRA has been passed. However, for the U.S. to have a functionally independent solar supply chain, the earlier legs of the solar supply chain must be addressed. 

A typical solar panel’s journey begins with mining and refinement of raw polysilicon into ingots. The ingots are shaved into wafers, and then manufactured into cells. These cells are then combined and framed into a solar panel, more commonly known in the industry as a solar module. The U.S. has high amounts of module assembly capacity, but each leg before module assembly in the supply chain is critically undersupplied domestically.

As seen in the chart below, China dominates the global supply chain in these early legs of solar manufacturing.

“These manufacturing steps are the most capital intensive yet among the least incentivized through the provisions in the IRA,” said the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America coalition. 

Recent updates to the IRA’s rules on the domestic content tax credit adder may help push more solar cell manufacturing on U.S. shores. Solar projects meeting the domestic content requirements for IRA are awarded a 10% tax credit for installed project costs on top of the 30% base investment tax credit. Under the updated rules, it appears in most scenarios, a solar module must have solar cells of U.S. origin to qualify for the adder. 

Despite this tailwind for solar cell development efforts in the U.S., it remains to be seen if the United States can compete with China on cost. Solar component prices are hovering at all-time lows, and the U.S. lacks the raw material mining and refinement ecosystem that China has established to support the early legs of the supply chain. 

The Biden Administration has also cracked down on the supply side from China. Recent measures have intensified tariffs for solar components entering U.S. shores, and the two-year pause on antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) tariffs is set to end this June.  

Tariffs on goods found not to be in compliance with AD/CVD laws can be as high as 50% to 250% or more of the cost of shipped goods. This is a considerable deterrent for dumping product, and yet solar component prices continue to race to the bottom. The heavy lift of building the early-stage upstream manufacturing ecosystem of polysilicon, ingots, wafers, and cells remains heavy. 

R&D funding

Along with these measures, the Biden Administration announced through the Department of Energy $71 million in funding for research and development projects that seek to address these early gaps in the solar supply chain. DOE selected three projects for the Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-Use Photovoltaics Incubator funding program which will support the development of technologies to bring silicon wafer and cell manufacturing onshore. 

Seven additional projects will advance dual-use PV technologies to harness their potential to electrify buildings, decarbonize the transportation sector, and reduce land-use conflicts. Funded companies include Silfab Solar, Ubiquity Solar, GAF Energy, and more. Find the full list of awardees here.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to building an American-made solar supply chain that boosts innovation, drives down costs for families, and delivers jobs across the nation,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm.

While thousands of jobs and billions of investments in the have occurred post-IRA, it remains uncertain that the U.S. will be able to build a domestic clean energy supply chain from the ground up.

The Biden Administration has released a fact sheet detailing multiple solar panel related policies, including the removal of the bifacial solar panel exemption. This exemption previously allowed certain solar panels to bypass the Trump-era 15% tariff. The reinstatement of this tariff is expected to increase the cost of commercial, industrial, and utility-scale solar projects by 1% to 2%.

White House Fact Sheet

The administration also reiterated its focus on the solar sector, along with plans for continued expansion of its manufacturing base. This release follows yesterday’s announcement where the administration heightened the import tariffs on Chinese solar cells from 25% to 50%.

In late 2022, the Biden administration imposed tariffs on solar modules from four Southeast Asian countries but delayed their implementation for two years to ensure business continuity. With this delay set to end next month, the White House announced that the “Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce will closely monitor import patterns to ensure the U.S. market does not become oversaturated” with stockpiled modules or products resulting from other unfair practices that might circumvent the ruling.

In response to today’s announcement, Danny O’Brien, President of Corporate Affairs at Qcells, expressed support: “Today’s announcement is yet another signal that President Biden is serious about ensuring the long-term success of solar manufacturing in the United States.”

However, the Solar Energy Manufacturers Association (SEMA) found the action lacking. “Lifting the exemption reinstates a 15% tariff, providing important, but sadly still insufficient, relief from anti-competitive trade practices until the tariff is set to expire in February 2026.”

SEMA is committed to collaborating with the administration to ensure the utilization of all solar panels from tariffed regions within the country by December 2024. Some estimate that over 100 GW of solar panels are currently stockpiled in the U.S., with projections of more than 45 GW by the end of 2023.

The fact sheet also indicated that the Treasury Department is set to release additional guidance on the domestic content requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act. It states, “Today’s Notice creates a new elective safe harbor that gives clean energy developers the option of relying on Department of Energy-provided default cost percentages to determine bonus eligibility.”

To support the domestic solar panel assembly industry, the cap on importing solar cells under Section 201 tariffs was raised from 5 GW to 7.5 GW. This measure aims to support the announced 125 GW of solar module assembly manufacturing capacity without stifling emerging solar cell production.

Bifacial solar panels, which are predominantly used in commercial, industrial, and utility-scale solar power projects, were previously exempt from tariffs. With the removal of this exemption, the cost of imported bifacial solar panels, typically ranging from $0.10-0.25 per watt, will increase by $0.015 to $0.0375 per watt. For commercial projects with installation costs between $1.50 and $2.75 per watt, these increases will result in system price hikes of about 1-2%. Bifacial panels now represent 98% of all solar panels imported into these sectors.

Due to significant reductions in solar panel prices, which have fallen from $0.30-0.40 per watt two years ago, the impact of these tariffs remains less severe today. However, the industry still faces financial uncertainties as the June 2022 tariff delay approaches its expiration, and new AD/CVD cases have been filed recently.

This article was amended on 5/23/24 to correct the change in solar panel prices, which have fallen $0.30-$0.40 per watt rather than the $30 to $40 per watt as originally state.

Solar and wind powered boat’s final voyage across the sea The Energy Observer has one more stop in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, a French territory just south of Newfoundland, before powering across the North Atlantic to retire.

Renew Home launches with virtual power plant solution Through the partnership of Google Nest Renew and OhmConnect, Renew Home, has a goal of expanding from 3 GW of electrical energy use to 50 GW by 2030.

Opposition stymies solar – sometimes Strong growth in U.S. solar installations might suggest that solar has strong support but developers cite public opposition as a major challenge.

Active Surfaces raises $5.6 million to develop ‘solar 2.0’ This MIT spinout is developing lightweight, flexible solar panels that can be integrated into virtually any surface and manufactured using a printed, roll-to-roll process.

Active Surfaces, a Massachusetts-based startup spun out of MIT, has raised $5.6 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round led by Safar Partners, a deep tech venture capital fund.

Active Surfaces is developing lightweight, flexible solar panels that can be integrated into virtually any surface. The solar is manufactured using a printed, roll-to-roll process. Co-founder and CTO, Richard Swartwout, said that this funding will enable the company to expand R&D efforts, scale up production, and bring its “cutting-edge solar solutions to market more rapidly”.

The funding round was led by the deep tech venture capital fund Safar Partners. Additional participants include QVT, Lendlease, Type One Ventures, Umami Capital, Sabanci Climate Ventures, New Climate Ventures, SeaX Ventures, and others—reflect a diverse support base ranging from institutional VCs to corporate backers.

“Active Surfaces is pioneering a transformation in the built environment,” said Tommaso Boralevi, Technology & Innovation Director Europe at the Milan Innovation District (MIND) established by Lendlease, a global construction, development, and investment company. “At Lendlease, we are committed to advancing sustainable urbanization, and our investment in Active Surfaces represents a significant step towards integrating novel capabilities directly into the fabric of future developments.”

The company was also awarded $100,000 as part of last year’s MIT $100K Entrepreneurship competition. It had previously won $75,000 from Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s (MassCEC) Catalyst, Diversity in Cleantech – Early Stage (DICES), and InnovateMass programs that support clean energy and climatetech innovators in Massachusetts.

Swartwout describes the flexible, thin film solar as a “solar 2.0” technology. Solar 1.0 technology is seen in the large, rigid and heavy solar panels commonly installed today. Active Surfaces expects its solar 2.0 thin-film solar to  deliver dramatically higher efficiency, lower costs and greater versatility.

The company plans to scale its laboratory-fabricated 4-by-4-inch photovoltaic devices by advancing industrial roll-to-roll semiconductor printing technologies.

The process originally began in the MIT.nano clean room, where a team of researchers coated the solar cell structure using a slot-die coater. This deposited layers of electronic materials onto a 3-micron thick substrate. Then an electrode is screen printed onto the structure. The module, which is then about 15 microns thick, can be peeled off the substrate.

The choice of substrate was critical as it had to be lightweight and flexible, yet strong. What they found was a composite fabric known as Dyneema, made of extremely strong fibers. A UV-curable is added in a thin layer, which adheres the solar modules to the fabric to form what is described an an ultra-light and mechanically robust solar structure.

By adding a layer of UV-curable glue, which is only a few microns thick, they adhere the solar modules to sheets of this fabric. This forms an ultra-light and mechanically robust solar structure.

Heliene, Inc., a North American manufacturer of solar energy equipment, announced a multiyear supply agreement for U.S.-made solar modules with U.S.-made cells with UGE, a community and commercial solar developer.

Use of Heliene’s modules is expected to help UGE’s projects qualify for the domestic content adder in the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The solar cells are made by U.S.-based Suniva, which recently announced a three-year sourcing contract under which Suniva will supply domestically manufactured solar cells to Heliene for incorporation into its solar modules.

Heliene has a 300 MW manufacturing line in Ontario and a 100 MW line in Riveria Beach, Florida, and last year announced expansions to its Minnesota facility, adding 150 MW of capacity to the site. It has two manufacturing lines producing a combined annual 800 MW of solar modules. The upgrades also enable the company to produce TOPCon solar modules, which has rapidly emerged as a leading cell type in the global solar market.

With the Heliene supply agreement in place, UGE is projected to begin qualifying for the domestic content adder on projects that start construction as early as this summer. The domestic content adder can be obtained only by using U.S. made cells, according to guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury, published in May 2023. To qualify for the bonus, developers must purchase modules with U.S.-made solar cells, which continues to be a challenge due to the dearth of domestic cell manufacturers.

The domestic content credit, paired with other qualifying Investment Tax Credits adders, make a significant impact on project economics for UGE and other solar developers. Excelsior Energy Capital, for example, is another developer that recently announced a supply agreement with Heliene. Excelsior will purchase modules primarily produced at the company’s Minnesota factory.

“We are excited to collaborate with a like-minded company that has been our client for over a decade, now supplying U.S.-made modules with U.S.-made cells; we all look forward to this multiyear agreement with an already long-term partner,” said Martin Pochtaruk, CEO at Heliene.

UGE is a Toronto-based developer with a mission to make renewable energy accessible and affordable for all. The company reported it ended 2023 with 4.8 MW of operating assets, and that in 2023 the company reached commercial operation on 2.5 MW of projects, including a 1.0 MW project in Norway, Maine within the fourth quarter, which more than doubled the company’s operational portfolio from 2.3 MW to 4.8 MW. UGE focuses primarily on developing solar projects that serve low-to moderate-income communities and those most adversely affected by the transition away from the fossil fuel economy.

“We are thrilled about our partnership with Heliene, which will provide us with a reliable source of high-quality modules and support the critical need for growth in domestic solar manufacturing,” said Nick Blitterswyk, UGE’s founder and CEO. “Perhaps most exciting for us, this partnership will help us qualify for Domestic Content Tax Credits, improving our project economics so we can expand our impact by developing more renewable energy projects for the communities we serve.”

From pv magazine Global

The global solar cell and module manufacturing industry is currently operating at a utilization rate of approximately 50%, according to the IEA’s Advancing Clean Technology Manufacturing report. It said that global investments in new solar factories amounted to $80 billion in 2023 alone, which is two times more than in 2022.

The Chinese solar industry accounted for approximately 95% of global investments in wafer production capacity last year, 96% of investment in polysilicon production facilities, and 83% of module factories. The IEA said that around 440 GW of 500 GW of total cell and module capacity was deployed throughout the world last year.

“Existing manufacturing capacity for solar PV modules and cells could today achieve what is necessary to meet demand under the NZE Scenario in 2030 – six years ahead of schedule, with only modest gaps remaining for the upstream steps of wafer and polysilicon manufacturing,” the report noted. “While the sharp increase in supply has driven down module prices, supporting wider consumer uptake, stockpiles of solar PV modules are growing and there are signs of downscaling and postponements of planned capacity expansions, particularly in China.”

The agency said that around 80% of the world’s PV manufacturing industry is currently concentrated in China, with India and the United States accounting for 5% each and Europe at just 1%.

“The high geographical concentration of the full solar PV supply chain is unlikely to change significantly on the basis of announced projects, with China’s share of capacity for modules, cells and wafers decreasing marginally and increasing for polysilicon, to reach close to 95% in 2030,” said the IEA.

It also presented data on levelized cost of manufacturing, upfront and operational costs, as well as national incentives for manufacturing. It said that a 56 GW solar module factory under construction by JinkoSolar in China’s Shanxi Comprehensive Reform Demonstration Zone is cheaper than national average values.

“While estimates are not outturn costs, the facility is projected to come in at $7.8 billion, or $140/kW for full-chain solar PV manufacturing, compared with our national average figure of $185/kW for China,” said the IEA.

The report also includes data on global wind energy, electrolyzer production, and heat pump manufacturing.

U.S. solar manufacturing and the SEMA Coalition expansion Solar Energy Manufacturers for America Coalition has a goal of rebuilding the solar supply chain in the U.S.

Solar mounting system update K2 releases a new product, and Martin Roofing & Solar’s hidden-fastening solar mount achieves UL 2703 certification.

California batteries dominate evening grid with 10 GW/40 GWh of capacity  The state is once again setting springtime output records from solar, while energy storage takes over the peak electricity demand period becoming the maximum output source.

IEC develops standards for vehicle-integrated photovoltaics In its first monthly column for pv magazine, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) explains how a team of its experts is currently working on the definition of new standards for VIPV systems.

CATL presents EV battery with 1,000 km range Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) has shown its latest lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery at an auto show in Beijing. The Chinese company says it has an energy density of 205 Wh per kg, almost 8% higher than the current state of the art for such batteries.

Birch Creek to procure 547 MW of U.S.-made First Solar modules Birch Creek, which has a portfolio of over 14.2 GW of utility-scale solar and storage projects in various stages of development, says it plans to deploy the First Solar modules in projects across its development pipeline in the United States.

First Solar, Inc. announced an agreement to supply Birch Creek Energy with 547 MW of advanced Series 6 Plus bifacial thin film solar modules.

Birch Creek Energy, based in St. Louis, Missouri, is a utility-scale solar developer that develops, finances and owns utility-scale solar and storage projects in the U.S.

Operating since 2019, the company has developed 1.7 GW of solar projects and has a portfolio of over 14.2 GW of utility-scale solar and storage projects in various stages of development across MISO, PJM, ERCOT and the Southeast. The company was named the 3rd fastest growing privately-held company in America, and fastest-growing energy company on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list.

Birch Creek says it plans to deploy the First Solar modules in projects across its development pipeline in the United States.

“We are pleased to establish this relationship with First Solar, which we expect will enable certainty of module supply for a critical part of our development pipeline,” said Dan Siegel, CEO of Birch Creek. “By choosing to buy our modules from First Solar, we are strengthening our domestic content strategy with a trusted partner that delivers a competitive product.”

First Solar had a U.S.-made nameplate capacity 6 GW at the end of 2023, and is expected to expand to 14 GW by 2026 with announced manufacturing expansion in the U.S. Its $1.1 billion Alabama factory and $185 million expansion of its existing facilities in Ohio are expected to bring its total investment in American manufacturing to over $4 billion.. It expects to add at least 850 new manufacturing jobs and over 100 new R&D jobs, taking its total number of direct jobs in the U.S. to over 3,000 people in four states by 2025.

In addition to providing multi-gigawatts of domestic content to the U.S. market, First Solar’s investments in U.S. manufacturing are also bringing jobs. According to a recent study commissioned by First Solar, current operations supported an estimated 16,245 direct, indirect, and induced jobs in 2023, representing approximately $1.6 billion in annual labor income. The company says that in 2026 it is forecast to support an estimated 30,060 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country. The study projects that every direct job First Solar supports in 2026 will support 7.3 jobs nationwide.

IRA should incentivize steel solar frames, says report A report from Origami Solar and Wood Mackenzie advises that if the U.S. solar industry switched from aluminum to recycled steel frames, it would no longer need to import aluminum frames from Asia.

Improve transmission planning and interconnection cost allocation, says SEIA-affiliated group Federal regulators should consider specific reforms to improve transmission planning, lower interconnection costs and provide cost certainty, says a group affiliated with the Solar Energy Industries Association.

IEA calls for sixfold expansion of global energy storage capacity The International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued its first report on the importance of battery energy storage technology in the energy transition. It has found that tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 would require 1,500 GW of battery storage.

Minnesota sues GoodLeap, Sunlight, Mosaic and Dividend over dealer fees The Attorney General claims these companies misled consumers about residential solar pricing, concealing inflated fees behind the federal tax credit and long-term contracts with low interest rates.

While many solar panels installed in the United States are imported across the globe, the structures they are mounted on at the utility-scale are most often provided by U.S.-based companies. Nextracker and Array Technologies are two of the largest solar tracker providers, with a strong market share both in the United States and internationally.

The United States installed 32.4 GW of solar in 2023, a 51% increase over 2022. To meet the steadily rising demand, U.S. solar tracker and mount manufacturers are expanding their operations.

In Pittsburgh, a city famous for its steel production, Nextracker has worked with JM Steel since 2022 to produce torque tubes for its solar tracker systems. Now, it has more than doubled its contract manufacturing agreement with JM Steel, expanding its operations to about 4 GW of annual torque tube production.

The facility now features updated manufacturing processes including automated drilling and swedging. The expansion marks the 20 new or expanded manufacturing partner facilities for Nextracker since 2021 and enables the company to provide over 25 GW of solar tracker capacity each year.

“This facility is also expected to produce core components of our new low carbon tracker offering announced this week,” said Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker. “The U.S. solar market is continuing to demonstrate strong growth. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has forecasted solar to grow 26% on an annual compounded rate and be the number one source of energy in the U.S. within a decade.”

Also this week, in New Mexico, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm joined Array Technologies at a groundbreaking for a $50 million-plus manufacturing site. The facility is Array’s second in the state and is expected to create over 300 jobs. Array was founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico over three decades ago.

The new 216,000 square foot campus will produce components for Array’s solar tracker solutions. The facility was supported by Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, a $2.5 million economic assistance from the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) and the city and county each provided an additional $250,000 through LEDA funds. Total economic impact between capital investments and job creation is expected to exceed $300 million over the next 10 years.

“This announcement from Array is an example of how smart federal policies can directly benefit states and localities with jobs and economic growth,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “Investments in domestic solar manufacturing like this one are critical for strengthening our nation’s energy security and ensuring our energy future puts people and communities first.”

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is incentivizing solar energy adoption, in addition to adding bonuses for use of domestic content, however, there are not enough American-made solar components to supply the rapid buildout. A recent report from Origami Solar and Wood Mackenzie says the IRA missed the mark by not incentivizing use of U.S. steel module frames, as the U.S. steel industry has the capacity and it would reduce our dependence on imports.

The recent report Energy security and the solar supply chain: The urgent case for onshoring, notes that a total of 138 GW of U.S. module manufacturing capacity has been announced since passage of the IRA, with plans to be operational by 2027.

While Wood Mackenzie expects only about 65 GW of module capacity to come online by 2027, it is still a huge increase from the 2023 U.S. module capacity of 13 GW and the 9 GW produced domestically before the IRA became law.

In the meantime, as new manufacturing facilities began full-scale production, the U.S. solar industry remains beholden to imports. China currently dominates the supply chain from critical minerals to solar cell and wafer production and solar panel assembly, which includes the commonly used aluminum frames.

While the U.S. is working toward building up its domestic module manufacturing, thanks for the IRA, the report says that a less well-known problem is U.S. dependence on aluminum module frames. The majority of these are currently imported from East and Southeast Asia, and the report notes that they are all made from carbon-intensive aluminum.

It should be noted that Origami Solar, based in Bend, Oregon, is a manufacturer of steel frames, which are said to lower cost and improve module performance. The company reports that the frames are made of “green” recycled steel, thereby reducing greenhouse gases by up to 93%, representing a reduction of 80 kg per module or 200 metric tons per MW.

The report advises that if the U.S. solar industry switched from aluminum to recycled steel frames, it would no longer be dependent on foreign imports because “the  massive, well-established U.S. steel industry is positioned to easily meet the demand of domestic manufacturers with a more reliable, durable, less carbon-intensive, and readily available product”.

According to Wood Mackenzie, the aluminum frame accounts for over 13% of the cost of a 555 W single-glass PERC module made in China.

The report states that the U.S. steel industry “is prepared to quickly supply affordable, reliable, and far lower carbon intensive frames,” and it points out that the IRA provides a domestic content adder for trackers and racking systems that use domestic iron and steel.

Securing steel fabrication to alleviate supply chain concerns and shipping volatility is an emerging trend in the tracker and racking space, and the report notes that the domestic steel industry’s partnership with tracker manufacturers has demonstrated its readiness to supply U.S. module producers. According to Wood Mackenzie, the proposed annual tracker manufacturing capacity in the U.S. is between 70 GW and 100 GW.

Nextracker, a U.S.-based tracker provider, recently reported that its NX Horizon utility-scale solar trackers are now available with up to 35% lower carbon footprint because it is using recycled steel produced in facilities strategically sited near the project sites,

Another tracker provider, Terrasmart, fabricates its own steel structures in house. Terrasmart President, Ed McKiernan told pv magazine USA that such an approach allows his company to switch up their operations “on a dime,” and to accommodate design and timeline changes for customers.

A recent report by the Solar Energy Manufacturing Association (SEMA) supports a switch from aluminum to steel frames for solar modules because it will decrease dependence on China and give the industry a domestically sourced solution.

To stick with aluminum frames means continued dependence on China, as the report notes that China commands nearly 60% of the global aluminum supply, with the U.S. producing just 2%.

In October of 2023 the U.S. Department of Commerce also announced the initiation of an antidumping duty and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigation into aluminum extrusions from several countries. The report states that it is alleged that the imported extrusions are purportedly 375% cheaper than their actual cost of production and that Chinese producers receive subsidies of 170%.

The report also points out the high cost of transporting aluminum frames from Asia—both in terms of dollars and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). It points to a recent report by Boundless Impact Research & Analytics that found that a domestically produced, 2 by 1 meter steel frame emits 90% fewer GHG than a foreign-produced aluminum module frame of the same size.

While some may consider using domestically produced aluminum for solar module frames, the report offers several reasons why that would be a challenge. It contends that aluminum production cannot meet the demand. For example, in 2023 the U.S. consumed 5.8 megatons of aluminum, yet produced only 0.915 megatons, according to the report. Scaling the industry to keep up with the solar market demands would be “expensive and time consuming,” the report says estimating that to meet the projected 50 GW of solar capacity expected in the U.S. by 2031, we’ll need 400,000 miles of frames.

In conclusion, the report makes the case that U.S. aluminum manufacturing cannot meet the needs of the U.S. solar industry, while the domestically sourced roll-formed steel industry can. Recent data from Wood Mackenzie shows the U.S. steel industry houses 143.62 megatons of crude steel capacity and produced 80 megatons of steel in 2023. Additionally, Wood Mackenzie indicates that the U.S. steel industry’s total capacity is forecast to grow by over 10% from 2021 to 2027.