Southern China’s rooftop gig – 01-2013
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Walking a thin line
Thin film 2013: Picking winners in this years PV market is difficult, to say the least. In the thin film sector, picking survivors may be near impossible. With brutal price competition continuing to make life hard, pv magazine casts its eye over the thin film field to see what strategies are emerging in this fight for survival.
Jan 07, 2013
Benefits of automation
Automation: Automation and robotics are transforming photovoltaic manufacturing. Chinese module manufacturers like EGing Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd. are automating key production steps and introducing nimble robots to handle a range of repetitive tasks. The results are higher throughput and improved quality, as well as cost savings due to a reduced workforce.
Jan 07, 2013
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Industry shakeout filters out untested technologies
Equipment suppliers: Only the lowest cost and most commercially viable PV technologies will end up surviving through the brutal PV shakeout phase of 2012. Finlay Colville, Vice-President at NPD Solarbuzz tells the story of how equipment suppliers have found themselves at this difficult junction, and which way to turn next.
Jan 07, 2013
Their own best customers
EPC ranking: In 2012 it seemed that Chinese solar project developers materialized out of thin air, while several German companies completely dropped off the charts. Market researchers and analysts shed light on the background and develop scenarios for how solar PV engineering, procurement and construction companies might develop in the future.
Jan 07, 2013
A boom across all segments
Japan: While there are regular announcements of new Japanese mega solar projects across the country, the latest figures of installed capacity and FIT registrations show that strong growth is also occurring in the residential market. Izumi Kaizuka, from RTS Corporation, takes a look at the data behind Japans solar boom.
Jan 07, 2013
Insight into the mind of inverter customers
Inverter survey: For the second year, IMS Research, recently acquired by IHS, conducted a survey of PV inverter customers in order for suppliers to gain insight into the opinions and requirements of their customers. Survey analysts Sam Wilkinson and Ash Sharma collate some of the most important results and look inside the changing behavior of inverter customers.
Jan 07, 2013
1,000 Factories, 1,000 Megawatts
China’s rooftop potential: Southern China and its richest province Guangdong have lagged behind other regions in China when it comes to PV production and installation. However, the region pioneered Chinas industrial development and at the recent Distributed PV Application and Commercialization Forum organized by SEMI China in Shunde, Guangdong, there were signs that the situation is about to change. Abundant industrial rooftops provide the basis for Guangdongs new Thousand Factories, Thousand Megawatts program and it could make PV a leading industry in this region.
Jan 07, 2013
Its political
International trade: Following the imposition of tariffs in the U.S. trade case against Chinas solar manufacturers, the conflict has escalated from bilateral to multilateral: The EU has joined the fracas and India is getting ready to rumble. Meanwhile, China is firing some warning shots. pv magazine talks to economists, trade experts, and solar industry leaders to determine the implications of this simmering trade war.
Jan 07, 2013
The time is ripe
Dear readers, And now 2013, a new year once again. I still remember the time when an acquaintance who was a development aid worker imagined getting the first large solar park underway in West Africa in 2006. For months he negotiated with companies, governments and banks, while preparing concepts, plans and subsidy requests. But somehow […]
Jan 07, 2013
A ground-breaking event for the sector
Offgrid: The 1st International Off-Grid Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition (IOREC) was held in Ghana and established the first major conference and trade fair focused exclusively on the off-grid renewable energy sector in developing countries. Simon Rolland, Secretary-General of the Alliance for Rural Electrification elaborates.
Jan 07, 2013
“Subsidies are extremely harmful”
Interview: What is hampering the development of the photovoltaics off-grid markets? And what can be done? Prof. Peter Adelmann, Director of the Institute for Decentralized Electrification, Entrepreneurship and Education (id-eee), reports on his experience with projects in Ethiopia and other countries.
Jan 07, 2013
Ghana’s first PV power plant
Interview: Blue Energy announced the 155 MW Nzema photovoltaic power plant project last month. The UK based renewable energy developer has formed subsidiary Mere Power Nzema Ltd. to execute the project. Douglas Coleman is the project director of Mere Power Nzema and he took the time to speak about the project particulars.
Jan 07, 2013
