Approaching the peak – 04-2013
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Japanese boom
PV market in Japan: At the moment Japan is probably the most attractive PV market in the world. This could easily be seen at the PV Expo trade show in Tokyo at the beginning of March. Promising business opportunities are on offer particularly for companies with high quality products. Up to 5 GW of additional PV capacity is expected to be added this year.
Apr 03, 2013
More pie for all
Financing: The new industry consortium truSolar is working to create a FICO score-type rating system to evaluate the risks and bankability of U.S. commercial solar projects. Could such a system increase capital, reduce financing prices and significantly grow the market?
Apr 03, 2013
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Ongoing development
Market overview: Manufacturers have to get creative in order for their inverters to keep pace with the fast-moving photovoltaics market. Operators of small photovoltaic installations, for instance, put emphasis on timely monitoring solutions via the Internet or a smartphone, and installers like systems that are easy to configure, with flexible interconnection options. On large solar farms, high efficiencies and low maintenance are in high demand.
Apr 03, 2013
Elevating solar with property tax funds
Property tax funding: A host of new property tax-based lending programs are arising across the United States bringing a promising new financing mechanism which could be securitized to much of the PV market for both residential and commercial installations.
Apr 03, 2013
The secondary solar market
Interview: SAG Solarstrom has sold five German field PV plants with a total output of approximately 12 MW to an investor. The systems built in the years 2007 and 2008 were technically and legally evaluated by the SAG Solarstrom Group and then purchased and restructured by a leasing company. Chairman of the board Karl Kuhlmann sees an interesting new field of business in such restructuring of solar investments on the secondary market.
Apr 03, 2013
Romania bucks EU trend of solar retrenchment
Romania: Reasons to be cheerful: Vladimir Pekic takes a look at the Romanian PV market a rare bright spot in a continent where austerity is casting a long shadow over PV and destroys a few myths, including the idea corruption and bureaucracy are significant hurdles to overcome in the country.
Apr 03, 2013
The lure of larger PV projects
Ecobuild 2013: Everybody likes big solar projects as they gobble up the MWs and the UK is no exception as it girds itself to install as much as 20 GW of PV by 2020. This is the upper end of a target set out within the UK Department of Energy and Climate Changes (DECC) Renewable Energy Roadmap at the end of 2012.
Apr 03, 2013
The solar catalyst
Saudi Arabia: One of the worlds largest producers of petroleum products is taking a sharp turn from fossil fuels to the sun. The need to cut back on conventional fuel dependence and to bank in on the sun has fueled forecasts that Saudi Arabia will be the solar market to look out for in the year to come.
Apr 03, 2013
Pyranometers and reference cells
Measuring irradiance: Pyranometers and reference cells what makes the most sense for PV power plants? Part 2 of a two-part series by five collaborators representing diverse organizations but sharing a unified vision of a way to reduce uncertainty in PV power plant performance measurements.
Apr 03, 2013
Worried looks and optimism
Dear readers, There was no beating around the bush at this year’s SEMI Europe PV Fab Managers Forum in Berlin. The main problem for the industry continues to be substantial global overcapacities. IHS estimates worldwide production capacity for modules this year to be roughly 59 GW, for cells approximately 48 GW and around 56 GW […]
Apr 03, 2013
Small is the new big the Indian rooftop revolution
India: With the southern state of Karnataka aiming for 1.2 GW of rooftop PV installations and the Kerala state government targeting 10,000 solar rooftops, Madhavan Nampoothiri of RESolve Energy Consultants looks at the countrys rooftop revolution.
Apr 03, 2013
Trends in energy storage markets
Storage market: Market activity in energy storage, as with most cleantech sectors, is tied to government strategies pertaining to industrial innovation. The three regions with the most innovative and dynamic economies, Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, have developed distinct strategies for cleantech and, more specifically, for energy storage, as Anissa Dehamna from Pike Research (a part of Navigant) explains.
Apr 03, 2013
