Opinion & Analysis

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Brazilian solar power production outperformed December expectations, with most of the country’s utility scale assets receiving irradiance well above average irradiance. Argentina saw storms through the month, though the south of the country stayed mostly dry and saw some of the highest daily irradiance across the continent.

While keeping rooftop solar panels clean and regularly maintained can deter most unwelcome visitors, householders may sometimes have to take more concrete measures to avoid wildlife taking up residence.

In its latest monthly column for pv magazine, the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV) presents the main findings of its White Paper on PV manufacturing. The report evaluates how policy and regulatory frameworks have evolved for European companies in the PV sector, and compares these frameworks to the PV industrial-policy evolution of key global markets such as China, India, and the USA.

With so much more agricultural real estate than Europe, the United States is building on the body of research built up across The Pond and rolling out solar panels on farmland at an impressive rate.

The costs of transporting a container from China to Rotterdam have already almost tripled due to ongoing tensions in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Houthi militants have been attacking merchant ships there for weeks, preventing them from entering the Red Sea and transiting through the Suez Canal.

Australia currently has about 40% renewable electricity, mostly solar and wind. This is not causing wholesale spot prices to change, nor destabilizing the grid. On current policy settings, the country will reach 82% renewable electricity in 2030.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that increased cloud led to solar assets in Northern Germany and the Netherlands receiving only 70% of normal irradiance in December. This cloud activity, however, did not make it below the Alps, and Southern Europe saw reduced rain and significantly less cloud than normal, with some regions experiencing 130% of the normal December irradiance.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

Large-scale PV installations are accelerating while labor shortages prompt the industry to explore alternative strategies for delivering and operating solar plants. Utility-scale solar construction company McCarthy Building Companies, and robotics company OnSight Technology, recently teamed up to test a robotic tool to inspect field components.