Germany

The results of this year’s Kiwa PVEL scorecard have shown that TOPCon technology is more vulnerable than PERC, and the failure rate at BOM level has increased to 41%, the highest in history, according to the testing lab.

The comparison site Selfmade Energy shows, in addition to the falling prices, that customers are obtaining significantly more offers than they were one or two years ago. Managing director Tim Rosengart assumes that the price pressure on installers will continue in the coming months.

The perovskite-silicon tandem device has a two terminal configuration and a 2D perovskite layers at the bottom interface. It was able to retain around 80% of its initial efficiency for 1,700 h.

The German manufacturer unveiled a new line of hybrid inverters for applications ranging from residential rooftop arrays to projects on small commercial buildings. They have outputs between 6 kW and 12 kW, a maximum efficiency of 98.19%, and a maximum European efficiency of 96.55%.

Through a new methodology based on Decoupled Net Present Value (DNPV), a German research team has found that residential photovoltaic systems were not economically viable under most market conditions at the beginning of 2023. Although lower modules prices have significantly improved system profitability in recent months, several influencing factors that change over time may still have an impact on revenue.

The new Solar Module Quality Standard is based on VDE SPEC 90038-1. It will guarantee that PV modules have been produced and tested according to uniform quality criteria.

Repsol has told pv magazine that it has frozen 90% of Spain’s hydrogen projects nearing final investment decisions, while Statkraft has confirmed that it has revised its plans for its hydrogen project in Norway.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems (Fraunhofer IMWS) has developed a methodology to improve lifetime predictions of inverters, to help manufacturers reduce material use and testing efforts while lowering production costs without compromising device lifespan.

New research from Germany shows that identifying the cheapest residential heating source remains challenging, as the final results depend on the assumptions made and energy prices. The scientists, however, demonstrated that air-water heat pumps and gas heating systems are currently the most cost-effective solutions.

JinkoSolar has revealed plans to issue global depositary receipts (GDRs) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to raise €580 million ($627.6 million).