Spain and the boom in solar energy

If you look at the list of European countries that have attracted attention in recent years with a strong increase in solar energy, there is no way around Spain. No other country is currently experiencing such a large PV boom. Spain breaks its records of newly installed capacity year after year. For example, from 135 megawatts (MW) in 2017 to a total of 551 MW (2018). And the latest forecasts are also impressive and show a further increase in 2020 with 4.9 gigawatts (GW) of newly installed services. This means that by the end of 2020 the country will have a total photovoltaic output of 8.7 GW. But where does the strong growth come from? A market outlook:  (more…)

Supplier portrait: Sungrow – Clean Power For All!

Every once in a while we are presenting our suppliers and partners on our blog. Today: one of the world’s leading specialists in the field of inverters and storage solutions – Sungrow. Since 23 years, the green tech company stands up for a clean future and recently hit the 100 GW milestone – a true success within the industry as well as for Sungrow. In 2012, we included the high quality products from the Chinese manufacturer and now already look back on seven successful years together. (more…)

IBC SOLAR at Genera Solar 2020

Renewable energies in Spain, especially with regards to the solar market are booming. This became clear during the visit to Genera Solar 2020, Spain’s largest energy and environmental fair in Madrid. IBC SOLAR also participated and presented the wide range of its services and product portfolio, from modules and mounting systems to inverters. However, this year’s highlight was the launch of the Spanish PV Manager version. (more…)

From M0 to M12 – different wafer sizes in the market

When you talk to the pioneers of the German PV industry, such as Mr. Udo Möhrstedt or the first participants of the symposium at Banz Monastery, one looks back at the early years with a sparkle in the eyes. A specific example is the comparison between the wafer sizes of the past and the present. The “wafer” is the starting material for the production of crystalline solar cells, which is only about 200 µm thick. Although there have been many adjustments over the years, the continuity has unfortunately disappeared. In recent months, countless new wafer sizes have appeared on the market. Something the PV industry has never experienced before. In addition, there is no uniform designation. With this article we would like to shed some light on the topic, and in addition to a review of the history of cell size, we want to compare the current common names. (more…)

Module trends and technologies: Cast Mono

The photovoltaic market has increased significantly over the last decade. In 2015, the annual PV installation was over 50 GW and the solar cells made with Multi Crystalline Silicon (mc-Si) had a market share of nearly 60 %. This year, however, the majority of European countries noticed a significant switch to Mono Crystalline Silicon with ratios of ~70 % in comparison to 30 % mc-Si. Regardless of the technology, one aspect is absolutely clear: the market is still going the direction where customers worldwide require higher efficiencies. The prices, however, have to stabilise or should get lower. By fulling this demand, cell and solar module producers are required to provide a solution to offer higher efficiencies at the same or lower level of prizing. In Sep 2018 we introduced you to our new module technologies which includes Half Cell, Multi Busbar or optimized cell connector like LRF. This time we want to take a closer look the Cast Mono technology.  (more…)