Disrupt this space – 01-2015
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The disruptor and the disrupted
There’s a high-pitched whirr, an imperceptible delay, and then you feel as if you are being launched into orbit. Putting my foot down in the Tesla Model S is an experience I won’t forget any time soon. I took one for a test drive at the 15th Forum Solarpraxis, held in Berlin last November, and […]
Jan 20, 2015
Disrupted utilities push back against solar
Australia: At the start of this year, cumulative PV capacity Down Under is close to 4 GW. For a country with a population of around 23.5 million, this is pretty impressive. It also means that PV is becoming a major disruptive force in the utility landscape. Utilities have some ability to put up informal barriers to unchecked solar adoption. Solar Business Services Nigel Morris spoke with solar installers right around the country to see what hurdles they face.
Jan 20, 2015
Investment Tax Credit sunset date looms ahead
USA: The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) has been called the cornerstone of continued growth in the US solar market. At the end of 2016, the credit will drop from 30% to 10%, and will be limited only to businesses. What will this mean for the United States solar PV market?
Jan 20, 2015
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Disruptive change
Future of utilities: Its with some pride that the PV industry can consider itself disruptive to the way that electric utilities do business. Certainly German utility Eon has responded drastically to the changing shape of its industry by spinning off its fossil fuel assets by 2016. And a report from Accenture showed that 61% of utility executives are aware that major revenue disruption is around the corner, up from 43% in 2013. Stephen Lacey from Greentech Media takes a look at what all this disruption actually means.
Jan 20, 2015
Disrupted utilities push back against solar
Australia: At the start of this year, cumulative PV capacity Down Under is close to 4 GW. For a country with a population of around 23.5 million, this is pretty impressive. It also means that PV is becoming a major disruptive force in the utility landscape. Utilities have some ability to put up informal barriers to unchecked solar adoption. Solar Business Services Nigel Morris spoke with solar installers right around the country to see what hurdles they face.
Jan 20, 2015
The second stage of renewable energy
Interview: BYD started producing rechargeable batteries in 1995 and got into manufacturing electric vehicles after purchasing an automobile company in 2003. BYDs lithium iron phosphate batteries power cars, buses, and forklift trucks as well as energy storage solutions. Tom Zhao, General Manager of BYD Solar, talked with pv magazine about the companys strategy and the markets for energy storage and electric vehicles.
Jan 20, 2015
Keeping PV components green
Sustainable PV: Just as module efficiency does not depend only on cell architecture developments, so too does sustainable solar come right down to the components. This is the case from solar glass through to backsheets. The use of fluoropolymers in backsheets supplied to the industry has some worried about toxicity issues when modules come to their end of life.
Jan 20, 2015
On the cusp
Off-grid PV: Of the 1.3 billion people without access to electricity, more than 80% live in rural areas far away from the existing power grids. Because of the problems to finance the up-front cost of a solar PV system with a battery, diesel gensets are still the preferred energy solution in many of these areas.
Jan 20, 2015
Off-grid power for small-scale enterprises
Ethiopia: Light, services, energy PV can deliver tangible benefits to communities beyond electricity grids. It can also create new business opportunities in rural areas, as has been demonstrated in Ethiopia where businesses, a university and government are coming together to facilitate solars transformative growth. pv magazine spoke with Engidaw Abel Hailu, Manager at the Solar Competence Center (SCC) of Arba Minch University, Ethiopa.
Jan 20, 2015
New finance models primed for Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia: The southeastern region of Asia has an enviable solar resource and is home to some world-leading finance centers. The right combination of homegrown innovation and responding to global trends in finance will help to make the most of solar in the region. Ragna Schmidt-Haupt of DNV GL identifies several new global and local financing trends that could have a big impact in the region.
Jan 20, 2015
Battery backup for the edges
Battery storage: There is considerable activity in the battery storage sector from established companies and startups alike. Tesvolt is the latest startup to enter the space, offering a 100 kWh to 1 MWh storage solution, with a retail price starting at 330/kWh ($393/kWh). The primary market Tesvolt is seeking to address is to supply backup power and pv magazine visited its first major installation, literally at the edge of one grid, to find out more.
Jan 20, 2015
Merchant solar
New business models: As global solar markets mature and reach more and more locations around the globe, opportunities for new business models open up. Among the most interesting of these is merchant solar, where projects sell the electricity they generate on the spot market.
Jan 20, 2015
“It’s a one-two punch”
Clean energy revolution: Tony Seba is a lecturer in entrepreneurship, disruption and clean energy at Stanford University. He spoke to pv magazine about the themes in his new book, Clean Disruption, which looks at how solar, electric vehicles and other exponential technologies are leading to a clean, knowledge-based energy era.
Jan 20, 2015
Anti-reflective coating the new normal
ARC glass: Incremental improvement in materials can have a major impact on overall module efficiencies and therefore cost per watt. Anti-reflective coating certainly fits that description and is fast becoming ubiquitous in PV glass manufacturing. Technological variations exist in terms of ARC material and application and the key metric, it seems, to this particular ARC lever is proving durability in a range of conditions.
Jan 20, 2015
Exhibiting newfound confidence
2015 trade show preview: Crystal balls run notoriously badly on solar power, but the unmistakable confidence that swept many of last years leading trade shows suggests that 2015s fairs will fare even better. pv magazine brings you the lowdown on what to expect at the main solar and renewable energy exhibitions this year.
Jan 20, 2015
Jordan’s solar PV spring
MENA region: Jordan is rather belatedly undergoing a solar PV spring. The emerging question is whether this will last, and summer will burst into life, or whether the current momentum will soon subside, giving way to other forms of energy. There are signs indicating both.
Jan 20, 2015
A model to replicate
Solar in the Gulf region: The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority procured the worlds cheapest solar energy ever in a call for tenders last November. Moritz Borgmann, Partner at Apricum, a Berlin-based advisory firm specialized in renewable energy technologies, analyzes the results of the 100 MW solar PV tender and gives his view on the wider implications for the region.
Jan 20, 2015
On the cusp
Off-grid PV: Of the 1.3 billion people without access to electricity, more than 80% live in rural areas far away from the existing power grids. Because of the problems to finance the up-front cost of a solar PV system with a battery, diesel gensets are still the preferred energy solution in many of these areas.
Jan 20, 2015
A panel decision
Module-level disruption: Power electronics at the module level are a growing part of the energy management system, offering immense potential in data monitoring that can push LCOE into the hands of the consumer. pv magazine explores some of the technologies that are set to shake up the residential solar sector in the near future.
Jan 20, 2015
