Events

In solar PV, while the world seems focused on quantity – how many megawatts installed, at what price – solar power manufacturers, installers, and operators know that quality is crucial to the successful delivery of clean and profitable power.

Given that the U.K.’s policy support for the solar industry has waned significantly, pv magazine explores whether community energy projects can offer a viable solution for the sector.

Since October 8 some 42 cars powered by solar energy raced their way across Australia from Darwin to Adelaide in the 30th World Solar Challenge. Delft University’s Nuon Solar grabbed its seventh win.

Record crowds have been attracted to this year’s All Energy Australia trade show and conference, currently underway at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. With the country’s rooftop market set to exceed 1 GW in 2017, the battery storage sector burgeoning, and strong growth being shown in the utility scale segment, policy uncertainty prevails beyond 2020.

At last month’s Solar Power International trade show and conference, pv magazine hosted its sixth Quality Rountable event – the second of its kind at SPI. The event raised a number of worrying real-world examples of quality falling short of expectations, but it ended on the hopeful note of quality across the value chain trending upwards.

A seminar held at the Solar and Storage show in Birmingham provided the latest information about solar PV development in the Republic of Ireland. The Irish PV market has started taking shape, focusing on rooftop projects.

Discussion about the adaptation of standards for Flashers, and the way in which high-performance and bifacial modules should be measured goes on. Berger Lichttechnik is now launching a new cell tester and Halm reports a three-digit number of delivered cell testers.

An engaging Quality Roundtable helped to shine a spotlight on the chief concerns affecting India’s installers, investors and stakeholders operating in this fast-paced solar market. Industry insiders confident the antidumping investigation against China will amount to nothing.

Secretary of the Ministry for New and Renewable Energy Anand Kumar believes the country can confound doubts about its bold solar ambitions and smash its 175 GW of renewables by 2022 target.

The Smart Energy Hackathon Southeast Asia taking place in Bangkok on September 8 – 10, 2017 will serve as a starting point to a larger support program to build smart energy startups in the region.