Yes, PV can – 10-2014
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Excerpt from the magazine
Moving forward
Investment policies: UBS and Citigroup are advising investors to prepare for a move away from fossil fuels towards solar, thanks to the rise of electric vehicles and the falling cost of battery storage. The question now is whether their investment bank peers will follow suit.
Sep 30, 2014
Singed birds and bad PR: Solar and wildlife issues
Wildlife: Solar scaremongers had reason to take flight earlier this year when images of fried birds at solar parks in the U.S. hit the headlines. But solars role in avian mortality is nothing to get in a flap about, as pv magazine discovered.
Sep 30, 2014
Durable and light
Glass-glass modules: A growing segment, c-Si glass-glass modules are becoming increasingly lighter. Reductions in module weight are a result of the lighter glass being produced for this application by manufacturers in Europe, Japan and China. pv magazine investigates the impact thin, toughened glass can have on the module business.
Sep 30, 2014
Will solar manufacturing return to the US?
PV manufacturing: The imposition of new tariffs on Chinese and Taiwanese PV cells and modules has been followed by high-profile announcements of new production facilities in the United States. Are these isolated cases, or will American solar manufacturing return?
Sep 30, 2014
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Resource adequacy
Capacity markets: Amid the normal European fragmentation on energy matters lies an unresolved capacity market question, with the UK proposing radical plans. If introduced, what role can renewables including solar PV play in building upon the growth of capacity markets in the UK and beyond?
Sep 30, 2014
Sustainable brew
Solar craft brew: While beer consumption in the U.S. is falling, the craft brew sector has been growing at over 10% annually since 2007. And this is a good thing for solar. Increasingly craft brewers are leading the way in installing innovative PV arrays and renewable energy systems. And the big brewers are following the lead of their smaller rivals.
Sep 30, 2014
ABB going big on storage and renewables
Batteries and power conversion: Last month in London ABB gathered journalists and investors from around the globe to unveil its strategic and financial plan for the vast business. Much was made of the companys 2014 acquisition of inverter manufacturer Power-One and the fact that ABB is now the second biggest inverter manufacturer in the world. Otto Preiss, the groups senior vice president, and head of the power conversion unit, spoke with pv magazine about the role the former PowerOne is playing in ABBs business and its collaboration with BYD in the battery space.
Sep 30, 2014
Enough of false potentials
Inverters: Many investors are afraid of potential induced degradation (PID) when they use inverters without a transformer. However, last year Omron presented a device with which the negative pole can be grounded, preventing degradation. Does it make a difference?
Sep 30, 2014
Uninterrupted, affordable, clean sources of energy
IEA Executive Director interview: In September, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report entitled Capturing the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency. The study concluded that energy efficiency is a crucial hidden fuel whose value goes far beyond the cost effects of energy savings. pv magazine attended the reports release in Berlin and spoke with IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven about energy efficiency and the role of PV in IEA energy scenarios.
Sep 30, 2014
The battle for Australias RET
Australia: With the economic and environmental underpinnings that would have any solar business wanting to jump in, solar Down Under looked all set to shine. But a change in government has brought the utility-scale and commercial rooftop segments into serious doubt, and could even deal the blooming residential rooftop market a major blow.
Sep 30, 2014
Microinverters vs. optimizers
Module-level electronics: The challenge of increasing the yield of a typical solar module has been taken up with aplomb by both microinverter and power optimizer suppliers over the past few years. Yet with both technologies claiming the upper hand in terms of power performance, pv magazine examines both sides of what looks increasingly like the same coin.
Sep 30, 2014
Striving for universal adaptability
Solar racking & mounting: US ground and roof mount systems for solar continue to improve through design and engineering, dropping weight and trimming installation time, while simultaneously becoming more universally adaptable to any module-plus-support configuration.
Sep 30, 2014
Global FIT overview
Feed-in tariffs: Western Australia sees reductions in payments after the repeal of the carbon pricing scheme. Egypt tables the idea of feed-in tariffs (FITs) in the sun-drenched country. France and Slovenia degress their FITs slightly as planned. EPIA speaks out on Italys retroactive measures. Missouri in the US cancels its SREC program.
Sep 30, 2014
Your guide to Solar Power International
SPI 2014: In 2011, the year it turned eight, the Solar Power International (SPI) trade show flew the nest. Previously the event had been based in California, but it has since flittered among the ever-growing number of solar markets in the U.S. This year SPI touches down in Las Vegas, and given the cleantech activity currently in Nevada Tesla Gigafab anyone? it should feel right at home.
Sep 30, 2014
More grid independence
CEO interview: Bill Watkins, CEO of Imergy Power Systems, speaks with pv magazine about the companys vanadium-based flow battery energy storage products and why they make sense for PV developers. Imergy is headquartered in Fremont, California, and has operations in Gurgaon, India.
Sep 30, 2014
Leading by doing
Sometimes statistics make for happy reading. With 15.9 GW of installed PV capacity and 143,000 jobs contributing $15 billion to the economy, the American solar industry is delivering some impressive numbers. Add to that more than 4.5 GW of new capacity over the last three quarters, as well as the contribution PV is making to […]
Sep 30, 2014
Balancing the grid with storage systems
Reserve power: A new business model aimed at accelerating amortization time for solar power storage systems is up and coming in Germany: participating in the reserve energy, or demand response, market can create an additional revenue stream for local solar power providers.
Sep 30, 2014
Grid parity for PV power plants
Grid parity monitor, fourth edition: Eclareon has published the fourth in its series of analyses investigating the growing competitiveness of PV in different applications and markets. In the latest edition, David Pérez from Eclareon concludes that utility scale PV is competitive with market prices in Chile, and the outlook is increasingly positive in Morocco, Italy and Mexico.
Sep 30, 2014
A bright future: solar in Brazil
Brazil: The Intersolar South America trade show was held in late August, right in the middle of the mild winter that Southern Brazil experiences. However, many of the conference-goers who had come from around the world to São Paulo were talking more about spring, and specifically a certain date in October.
Sep 30, 2014
25 years of optimizing
Trackers: Utility-scale single axis trackers may one day cover much of North Americas Southwest desert, including half a dozen states in the United States and in Mexico. The combination of strong insolation, readily available flat land, lowered cost, and well-refined engineering have made single-axis the design of choice for utility-scale PV installations in the region.
Sep 30, 2014
