2024

Meyer Burger will start production at its US module factory as it relocates its core operations from Germany to the United States. It is launching production of heterojunction solar modules and securing financing for a new cell plant.

After strong growth in recent years, demand is expected to slow somewhat in the next few years. With 122 GW in the next five years, private rooftop systems will remain a key driver of PV expansion in Europe. In the current study, the Bonn-based analysts named 1Komma5° the market leader among installers in Europe, ahead of Enpal and Zonneplan.

Solar Resource Compass provides users with an online service that can deliver indicative energy production estimates for any solar project, including the comparison of multiple irradiance datasets and the calculation of site-specific losses for dust and snow. Many features are still being beta-tested in Europe, but DNV tells pv magazine it is planning to roll out the tool in most of Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Oceania in 2024.

Heat pump installations are accelerating in the United Kingdom, but incentives are key to achieving future decarbonization targets, says energy certification body MCS.

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.

A new report by SolarPower Europe finds that more renewables, electrification and flexibility can boost European competitiveness, slashing average day-ahead energy prices by a quarter in the next six years and a third by 2040.

The multiple failures of a 10 MW floating photovoltaic (FPV) installation were the subject of an in-depth quality analysis at pv magazine’s Focus event, held as part of The smarter E Europe in Munich, Germany.

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.

Part of the National Renewable Energy Program, the ambitious project will identify the best sites to develop renewable energy projects throughout the country. Contracted companies will install 1,200 stations across all regions of the kingdom to measure solar and wind energy. Beginning this year, Saudi Arabia will tender new renewable energy projects with a capacity of 20 GW annually.

Transgrid – the owner of the power grid in New South Wales, Australia – aims to roll out up to 14 synchronous condensers and 4.8 GW of batteries with “grid-forming” capability to stabilize the electricity grid as coal-fired power plants retire and more renewables come online.