After another year of overall strong global solar market growth though with strong regional differences, the solar sector is entering 2025 with several unsolved challenges, including overcapacity, record low product prices and deployment challenges in more and more countries for a technology that has grown much faster than expected, leaving infrastructure and policy framework developments behind.
The TaiyangNews Webinar on Solar Market 2024 Review & 2025 Outlook will have leading solar sector stakeholders, including market analysts and industry associations, present and discuss their takeaways from 2024 and their views on what to expect in 2025.
The Webinar will take place on January 22, 2025, from 10:00 to 11:30 CET. You can register for free at this link: https://taiyangnews.info/our-events/taiyangnews-webinar-on-solar-market-2024-review-2025-outlook
Astronergy's ASTRO N7s ZBB-TOPCon modules have received 3 TÜV NORD certificates: the ‘world’s first’ UVID-Free certificate, IEC TS 63126 Extended High-Temperature (Level 2), and IEC 62892 Extended Thermal Cycling (TC).
UVID-Free: Demonstrates ultra-low degradation and stable output under prolonged UV120 irradiation (120kWh/m²)
Extended High-Temperature (Level 2): Withstands up to 110°C, excelling in extreme heat, deserts, and industrial rooftops
Extended Thermal Cycling (TC): Endures 392 cycles (-40°C to 110°C), ensuring long-term reliability in harsh conditions
The company said these certifications are a testament to the modules’ exceptional performance and durability in extreme environments.
Recently, Astronergy’s Yiwu and Yueqing solar laboratories received CNAS accreditation (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Leading vertically integrated solar manufacturer Trinasolar has earned the ‘world's first’ UL 61730 2000V certification for its 210 series modules. Certified by UL Solutions, Trinasolar's Vertex N 2000V high-voltage modules utilize i-TOPCon technology and the 210 technology platform, achieving a maximum power output of 630 W and an efficiency of 23.1%. Trinasolar claims these modules address the technical challenges of high-voltage applications with enhanced creepage distance design, high-insulation materials, and optimized components such as glass structures and junction boxes. The upgrades improve performance, reliability, and safety by minimizing arc discharge risks, preventing short circuits and fire hazards, and reducing material aging under high-voltage conditions, ensuring long-term system stability.
Earlier this week, Trinasolar also announced that it had received TÜV Rheinland's highest "AA" rating for full-chain traceability certification (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Solar encapsulation material manufacturer Cybrid Technologies has forecast a net loss attributable to shareholders of RMB 2 billion ($281.5 million) to 2.5 billion ($351.9 million) for FY2024, a sharp contrast to its net profit of RMB 1.036 billion ($146 million) in 2023. The company cited changes in photovoltaic supply and demand dynamics, intensifying market competition, and price declines in its backsheet and encapsulation film products as the key reasons for the lower revenue. Additional challenges include raw material price volatility and increased credit risks, leading to higher inventory and bad debt provisions, which further weighed on profits.
Chinese oil major China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has successfully connected its 1.3 GW solar PV project to the grid. Located in the Tarim Oilfield in Korla, Xinjiang, the project includes solar arrays, 2 x 220 kV booster stations, and an ultra-large 130 MW / 260 MWh energy storage system. The project adopts an integrated ‘solar PV + sand control + ecological restoration’ approach, where solar installations reduce wind and sand movement, enabling engineering-based sand stabilization. Grass grids will be installed under and around the solar panels to promote ecological recovery.
According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, large-scale industrial enterprises (with annual revenue of RMB 20 million or more) generated 846.2 billion kWh of electricity in December 2024, of which solar power accounted for 31.5 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 28.5%. Wind power generation reached 92.1 billion kWh, up 6.6%.
For the full year 2024, China’s large-scale industrial power generation totaled 9,418.1 billion kWh, with solar power generation rising by 28.2% year-on-year (YoY) to 419.1 billion kWh and wind power growing 11.1% to 936 billion kWh. Solar and wind accounted for 4.45% and 9.94% of the total, respectively, both growing YoY. Among other power sources, thermal power accounted for 67.36%, hydropower for 13.53%, and nuclear energy for 4.72%.
Additionally, China's solar cell output from large-scale industrial enterprises reached 684.95 GW in 2024, a 15.7% YoY increase, with December's monthly output alone reaching 67 GW.