Magazine Archive 07-2015

New markets: Honduras has emerged as the fast-growing market for PV in Central America in 2015. After Chile it is a true Latin American leader. pv magazine examines why.

Module prices: Steadily rising prices prevent market growth in Europe – and the solar industry continues to shed jobs.

Thin film: While thin film technologies have been slowly losing market share to crystalline silicon technology in recent years, impressive efficiency improvements have the potential to turn this trend around. Add to that the power boost CIGS and CdTe modules exhibit, on a kWh/kWp basis, and manufacturers claim the technology is a compelling offering.

c-Si industry ranking: Profitability is a term that is music to the ears of any producer, and in the crystalline silicon module ranks it is thankfully one being heard with increasing regularity. Movement amongst the top producers in this year’s ranking has not been groundbreaking, but there remains a lot of activity.

Global solar forecast: The coming year will be a strong one for solar, with continual growth in China and the U.S., a levelling in Japan, and the best year on record for India, according to Raj Prabhu, CEO and cofounder of Mercom Capital Group.

Cestas project: Thousands of acres, thousands of modules, thousands of components: The challenges facing Schneider Electric as it beavers away on the construction of the 300 MW Cestas plant in France are daunting, particularly in the fields of supply chain and schedule management.

Some call it the ‘solarcoaster’: the steep climb in periods of rapid growth followed by a gut-churning descent as regulations change and markets contract. Thrilling one moment, terrifying the next. But have we entered a period in which more sustainable global growth will become the norm? An answer in the affirmative was the impression the […]

Quality control: Module quality is a priority for PV investors and the industry as a whole. DNV GL’s Jenya Meydbray sets out how its Product Qualification Program is attracting downstream partners.

Adhesives: The downstream adhesive bonding markets are booming, particularly in the U.S. pv magazine examines the reasons why and looks at who the major players are.

Supply and demand: Is the soaring solar market in the U.S. storing up problems for the future? With demand growing, domestic supply remains stunted, while the forthcoming ITC sunset is driving an installation rush that threatens to overlook the industry’s tangible shortcomings.