Happy prosumers
Grid parity monitor: Solar PV self-consumption is an attractive alternative for residential consumers in major markets. Most European countries have reached grid parity in the solar energy self-consumption market, explains María Jesús Báez, Associate at eclareon, which merged its business with Creara last year to form Creara Energy Experts.
Withstanding typhoons, earthquakes and volcanos
Mounting systems: When installing ground mounted solar systems in Japan, developers must face a set of challenges almost unique to the country, including tough terrain, adverse weather and a demand for only the very highest standards.
UKs commercial breakthrough
Interview: Backed by government support and increasingly attractive to developers, the U.K. solar sector is evolving and 2015 could see commercial PV take center stage, says Lauren Cook of IHS.
The disruptor and the disrupted
Theres a high-pitched whirr, an imperceptible delay, and then you feel as if you are being launched into orbit. Putting my foot down in the Tesla Model S is an experience I wont forget any time soon. I took one for a test drive at the 15th Forum Solarpraxis, held in Berlin last November, and […]
Struggling utilities
Electric utilities: European utilities are struggling to adapt to a shifting market and investment landscape. As a result, policy-makers struggle to find new solutions in securing sufficient capacity reserves to integrate intermittent renewable power and avoid power outages. A pan-European electricity market could be an answer to this problem, but national governments seem more interested in protecting their home markets from competition.
Smart storage to power the Smarthome
Storage and the Smarthome: PV, batteries, and consumer electronics are coming together to deliver innovative solutions for the homeowner. It is capturing imaginations, but can it capture the future of residential energy?
Recycling the whole module
Sustainable PV: In part two of pv magazines investigation of module recycling, the attention remains on the backsheet and how, in a cost-competitive environment, fluoropolymers continue to pose a largely hidden challenge.
Performance under difficult conditions
Mounting systems Japan: Germany-based provider Schletter established operations in Japan in April 2012 to supply the booming ground-mount market. In supplying around 500 MW of mounting structures to Japan, it has learned valuable lessons about varying topographies and wide-ranging climactic conditions. Dominik Grützner, the representative director of Schletter Japan K.K, shares five key lessons from his time in Japan.
Optimizing tracker trouble shooting
PV tracker O&M: The laundry list of what can go wrong with trackers is a long one. Tracker designers and operations & maintenance experts are bringing innovations to the industry to help reduce costs.
Multi-MW solars past, present and future
Multi-megawatt solar: Paula Mints, founder and chief analyst of SPV Market Research, examines the development of large-scale solar PV.
