South Tyrol beckons
Italy: The northern Italian province of South Tyrol has the most ambitious goals for renewable energy in Italy, including plans for an increase in installed solar power capacity. To achieve these, foreign expertise and investments are welcome.
Spot market for PV panels: Not too sharp
Module prices: The anticipated price reduction on the spot market in November was not as sharp as previously expected. This was particularly true for high performance modules that were stored in Europe.
Sublime solar skin
Building integration: Suspended 100 meters in the air, French consulting engineers SECM have constructed a winding roof with 800 glass photovoltaic modules on top of a new eco high-rise on the edge of Paris. This was then ingeniously placed on the movable so-called spider brackets.
Supply-demand concerns
Ardour Solar Index: Low valuations spark some buying, but the 2011 macro outlook is still cloudy.
Tin and zinc sprinkled dream
CZTS: Reports streamed out of the IBM labs confirming the arrival of this new absorber for thin film solar cells. Research work into the copper-zinc-tin-sulfur/selenium (CZTS/Se) combination has been on-going for years now, but its value, cost-effectiveness and green mark remain shadowy. Whether the newbie in the thin film photovoltaic scene lives up to its hype remains to be seen.
US market: sunny with a chance of downpour
PV power plants: Market research points to a robust growth in the U.S. market driven by utility-scale projects. But the outlook might dim if a shift in political power leads to policies that put a brake on the pace of project development.
The greatest capacity leap in PV history
Interview CIGS: Up to now there has not been very much production of thin film CIGS modules, although their efficiencies are close to those of polycrystalline modules. Wolfgang Lange, Managing Director for Europe of Solar Frontier, explains why this may change next year. His company will soon be manufacturing cadmium and lead free modules in a gigawatt factory.
A signal for Africa
Cape Verde Islands: Prime Minister Neves has officially opened a solar farm on the islands to produce five megawatts, making it Africas biggest. A 2.5-megawatt system was completed a little earlier. The share of renewables is to reach 25 percent by 2011. The regulating agency also intends to specify a feed-in tariff next year that will make renewables worthwhile for small producers.
A small island with big prospects
PV Taiwan: This small island located off the coast of China has become an important player in the production of crystalline solar cells. The companies intend to continue their fast growth in the future.
Assured access to reliable energy supplies
U.S. Navy interview: pv magazine spoke to Bill Tayler, Director of the Energy Development, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Energy Office about the importance of solar power for the U.S. Navy.
