Magazine Archive

Interview: Small and midsize module manufacturers often are left sitting on their products when banks do not have enough confidence in them. Steffen A. Müller of Trust, a risk management and insurance broker, explains why his firm is focusing on this problem, and why bankers do not openly talk about the issue. While his explanations specifically refer to the legal situation in Germany, there are similar issues abroad.

Dear readers, Is the PV industry innovative enough? Over the past few months, the German solar industry in particular faced such public criticism. PV execs were charged with being too lazy, only having an eye on quick returns and investing too little in innovations thanks to Germany’s generous feed-in tariffs. Politicians were able to use […]

Thin film photovoltaics: As the first photovoltaic equipment supplier worldwide, Roth & Rau has developed a turnkey plant for cadmium telluride modules. In cooperation with a Chinese partner, the enterprise is going to build a reference factory in east Germany. Later, Roth & Rau will sell its plant to solar companies and investors outside of the branch. As such the thin film market will be changeable for a long time to come.

As the first photovoltaic equipment supplier worldwide, Roth & Rau has developed a turnkey plant for cadmium telluride modules. In cooperation with a Chinese partner the enterprise is going to build a reference factory in east Germany. Later, Roth & Rau will sell its plant to solar companies and investors outside of the branch. As such the thin-film market will be changeable for a long time to come.

Industry ranking: pv magazine asked market researchers and analysts who the leading manufacturers are and who will make up the future top ten. In this issue, we are looking at the largest manufacturers of crystalline cells.

China: So far Chinese PV companies have done quite well even without a domestic market. Now, the Solar Roofs plan and the Golden Sun program are causing the home market to develop. But Chinese module makers are further developing their export markets and upscaling vertical production processes.

Reducing the cost of inverters: If cost pressure on the industry goes up, inverters also have to get cheaper. Werner Kupka of the Solme Deutschland consultancy explains how video analysis can boost the ergonomics of their final assembly and raise the efficiency by 50 percent of an operation, which makes up almost a third of the value created in inverter production.

Building integrated PV: Architects are discovering the advantages of photovoltaics as multifunctional building components that also look impressive. An impressive example of this is the entrance hall of the new hospital at Aalst, Belgium.