Domestic market takes center stage
Show review: PV Taiwan 2017, held from October 18 – 20 at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei City, was bigger than ever, with the total number of exhibitors and booths up, as well as the overall number of visitors. Exhibitor numbers rose to 145, up from 131 the previous year, while the booth numbers increased even more dramatically, from 392 to 450 – nearly 15%.
Inspirational solar
Interview: Energy industry veteran and smartflower CEO Jim Gordon talks with pv magazine about his career path, and how the smartflower offers another way to deploy and experience solar.
Strong finish
Stock price index: Solar stocks outperformed the market last month. The Guggenheim Solar ETF (TAN) increased 13.5% versus the S&P 500 and Russell 2000, up 1.9%, and 1.1% respectively.
Only PERC
Module technology: EGing has made the transition to using only passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) technology, leaving behind older cell concepts. The company has developed a frameless glass-glass p-type bifacial module called Janus-II, to be launched in January 2018.
Buy or wait?
Module price index: This is the key question that confronts EPCs and installers nearly every late fall: which projects should be realized in the current year, and which can be postponed? How is module availability today, and how will it be in a few months? And of course: Where are prices headed?
Mind the gap
High efficiency cell technology: The slight performance advantage held by Taiwanese solar cell manufacturers appears to be coming to an end as Chinese tier-1 and tier-2 firms up their R&D spending in an effort to be fully vertically integrated. pv magazine looks at how this high efficiency technology race might impact the global PV industry.
Vulnerable solar markets and what makes them tick
Part I*: The wild and unruly U.S. solar marketplace. Why wild and unruly? With a dwindling manufacturing landscape but rising demand, the marketplace is looking increasingly imbalanced and vulnerable to the whims of global forces, thanks to poor decision-making at government level.
Building the benchmark
pv magazine test: The new pv magazine test took off as expected, and many manufacturers have sent their modules to be tested. George Touloupas, Director of Technology and Quality at CEA, takes us through the latest results, and the new improved grading system.
Price volatility shakes up India’s solar market
IHS Markit analysis: India’s shortage of PV modules in 2017 has challenged many PV developers that ventured into India after the 100 GW solar target was announced. As for the future, writes IHS Markit research and analysis manager Josefin Berg, the ongoing antidumping duty investigation clouds the visibility on pricing and complicates the bidding in new tenders. IHS Markit remains positive that the demand for PV in India will continue to grow, but volatility will remain.
Agfa upbeat for new mono-backsheet
Module technology: Agfa has developed a backsheet that consists of a single layer – an innovation that could well prove advantageous in the field, offering further opportunities to reduce delamination, lower LCOE, and result in boosted efficiency thanks to higher reflectivity.
