PV takes a stand at Ecobuild
Ecobuild 2011: After three intense days of showcasing design and built environment developments, product launches and seminars, Ecobuild closed its doors for the sixth time. This years event saw a much stronger PV presence and, in particular, highlighted many German companies intentions to enter the UK market.
Ready for the boom after the bust?
Turnkey TFPV: Thin film turnkey manufacturing plants are a relatively new solution seeking a place in the expanding PV equipment market, and yet it has already gone through a boom and bust. Now that sales of TFPV equipment are resurging with a force, demand for turnkey lines should follow, and companies like Manz Automation and Oerlikon Solar will benefit or will they?
Maintainability is increasingly important
Interview: How did the SNEC PV go from Centrotherms point of view? What are the challenges of the Chinese market? In an interview, Centrotherm CTO Peter Fath provides the answers.
Releasing pressure
Italy: This year, some pressure is going to be released in the worlds second-largest PV market. The Italian government will decide on new, reduced feed-in tariffs by April 30. A report from the Conferenza dellIndustria Solare Italia 2011.
Nobody believed it
Interview: SunPower, the fourth largest maker of crystalline PV modules, holds the world record for cell and module efficiency. Richard Swanson, founder, President and Chief Technical Officer of SunPower, explains how the company got there and what he is planning next.
Residual risk?
Dear readers, A handle on everything!? In Japan we have now seen a brutal example once again of how little this is the case when a huge natural disaster is coupled with an exceptionally risky technology. The earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 that shook the ocean floor approximately 380 kilometers northeast of […]
Acceptable lead times
Lead times: The worldwide photovoltaics market is building up more and more oversupply. The omnipresent capacity expansions are starting to hit the market. Oversupply is expected to peak in the next quarter.
Slow and steady wins the race?
PV Expo Tokyo: The gathering of the majority of the Japanese PV sector, as well as international solar players seeking to widen their network further east of China, saw three days of innovations, Made in Japan modules and new tests and certifications. pv magazine found itself in the middle of the hustle and bustle, gaining Japanese insider perspectives.
Aging overvalued
Degradation: Most yield assessments include possible module degradation in their calculations, yet theres little evidence to show whether modules really lose power as the years go by. Experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems have now come to the conclusion that many modules are better than previously thought.
Spot market for PV panels: Production piles up
Module prices: The slight drop in prices for crystalline modules was not enough to increase demand noticeably.
