Solving the PERC puzzle – 12-2015
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What to do when things heat up
Quality: The statistics say that Germany is home to numerous defective PV systems. In the Black Sheep series, pv magazine takes a closer look at individual cases. In one example, the parties involved came to an almost amenable agreement, but another case ended in a conflict with the manufacturer.
Jan 06, 2016
We guarantee the percentage of LID reduction
PERC LID: While it brought one of the first regeneration tools on to the market, Germanys centrotherm has observed a lag before market adoption, until now. Wolfgang Jooss (pictured), centrotherms Director R&D and Technology photovoltaics, and Thomas Pernau, Product Manager Firing and Regeneration Furnaces, spoke to pv magazine .
Jan 06, 2016
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Japan tweaks its subsidy
Japan FIT revisions: The feed-in tariff (FIT) introduced in Japan in July 2012 was pivotal in growing the countrys solar footprint as the country pivoted away from nuclear and towards solar. Now that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has begun revising the program, Izumi Kaizuka of RTS Corporation explains how these proposed changes are shaping up.
Jan 06, 2016
Britains solar future in doubt
United Kingdom: After a few years of astonishing success, the U.K.s PV sector is in turmoil and is fighting for survival. This years Solar Energy UK, held in Birmingham last month, reflected on the latest policy changes and laid bare a crucial question: what is the immediate and long term future for solar PV in the U.K.?
Jan 06, 2016
Low tariffs but a hot market
India update: Interest in the National Solar Mission has never been greater, but this hot market is pushing solar tariffs to record and some believe, unviable lows, writes Raj Prabhu of Mercom Capital. Across the country, most states are pressing ahead with tenders and new policies that are slowly transforming Indias energy landscape.
Jan 06, 2016
A shade better?
Maximum Power Point Trackers: The success that module-level power electronics suppliers have enjoyed in some of the worlds strongest solar markets has caught some of the more traditional inverter suppliers by surprise. Can a shift to dual or multi- MPPT string inverters help these companies claw back some of the market share lost to these module-level upstarts?
Jan 06, 2016
Keep a LID on it
PERC LID: Monocrystalline solar cells have always sported higher cell efficiencies, yet higher production costs and specific loss mechanisms limited the broader adoption of this production technology. As the industry moves to PERC structures and new cure technologies are being adopted, the relative appeal of monocrystalline cells is rising once again.
Jan 06, 2016
Playing the global game
Tracker supply chains: Global supply chains are being built out with unprecedented speed to meet intense demand in every quadrant of the globe. Tracker companies that do not already have corporate ties to steel makers are forging strategic relationships on a continent-by-continent basis. These tracker vendors are also tying up with major EPCs to handle the installation of foundations and racking.
Jan 06, 2016
Australias battery pilot on a grand scale
Battery storage: Batteries are flavor of the month Down Under. A quick wander around the All Energy trade show floor in Melbourne in October made that instantly apparent with a big number of suppliers, both domestic and foreign, displaying battery solutions for residential and commercial customers. There is no doubt that Australia will follow hot on Germanys heels as one of the early solar+storage markets. Whether it will play out favorably to ratepayers and solar consumers alike is less clear.
Jan 06, 2016
To a big year in PV
It’s easy to be a pessimist. Solar markets are invariably exposed to changes in policy and the ‘solarcoaster,’ with its precipitous ascents and rapid declines, is a wild ride familiar to everyone in PV. So when looking forward as we approach the year’s close, it’s often the case that dark clouds can be seen forming […]
Jan 06, 2016
A giant awakens
300 MW Cestas project: As 2015 comes to an end, a European giant awakens. Over the past six months pv magazine has tracked the progress of Europes largest PV project, the Cestas project in Bourdeux, France, from the ground screws up. This final installment in a six article series brings the contribution of a French construction giant to light.
Jan 06, 2016
Beyond Europes big three
European markets: While the U.K., Germany and France are firmly ensconced at the top of the Europes table in terms of annual installed PV capacity, significant contributions continue to be made further south. pv magazine brings the Austrian, Swiss, Portuguese and Spanish markets into focus.
Jan 06, 2016
Copper plating for PV cells
An alternative to silver paste: Copper plating is widely used both in the semiconductor industry and for bifacial and multi-junction PV cell designs. However, despite technical and cost advantages it has not been widely used for front-side metallization of standard crystalline silicon cells. Will copper plating replace silver paste for front-side metallization and, if so, when?
Jan 06, 2016
Keep a LID on it
PERC LID: Monocrystalline solar cells have always sported higher cell efficiencies, yet higher production costs and specific loss mechanisms limited the broader adoption of this production technology. As the industry moves to PERC structures and new cure technologies are being adopted, the relative appeal of monocrystalline cells is rising once again.
Nov 15, 2015
Copper plating for PV cells
An alternative to silver paste: Copper plating is widely used both in the semiconductor industry and for bifacial and multi-junction PV cell designs. However, despite technical and cost advantages it has not been widely used for front-side metallization of standard crystalline silicon cells. Will copper plating replace silver paste for front-side metallization and, if so, when?
Nov 15, 2015
Capacities for change
Voltage regulation: For solar energy to fulfill its potential, storage must also fulfill its potential. Ancillary services that control and regulate battery systems via intelligent software are paving the way for the solar+storage applications to provide meaningful solutions where the grid falls short.
Nov 15, 2015
Japan tweaks its subsidy
Japan FIT revisions: The feed-in tariff (FIT) introduced in Japan in July 2012 was pivotal in growing the countrys solar footprint as the country pivoted away from nuclear and towards solar. Now that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has begun revising the program, Izumi Kaizuka of RTS Corporation explains how these proposed changes are shaping up.
Nov 15, 2015
Beyond Europes big three
European markets: While the U.K., Germany and France are firmly ensconced at the top of the Europes table in terms of annual installed PV capacity, significant contributions continue to be made further south. pv magazine brings the Austrian, Swiss, Portuguese and Spanish markets into focus.
Nov 15, 2015
Playing the global game
Tracker supply chains: Global supply chains are being built out with unprecedented speed to meet intense demand in every quadrant of the globe. Tracker companies that do not already have corporate ties to steel makers are forging strategic relationships on a continent-by-continent basis. These tracker vendors are also tying up with major EPCs to handle the installation of foundations and racking.
Nov 15, 2015
To a big year in PV
It’s easy to be a pessimist. Solar markets are invariably exposed to changes in policy and the ‘solarcoaster,’ with its precipitous ascents and rapid declines, is a wild ride familiar to everyone in PV. So when looking forward as we approach the year’s close, it’s often the case that dark clouds can be seen forming […]
Nov 15, 2015
We guarantee the percentage of LID reduction
PERC LID: While it brought one of the first regeneration tools on to the market, Germanys centrotherm has observed a lag before market adoption, until now. Wolfgang Jooss (pictured), centrotherms Director R&D and Technology photovoltaics, and Thomas Pernau, Product Manager Firing and Regeneration Furnaces, spoke to pv magazine .
Nov 15, 2015
Low tariffs but a hot market
India update: Interest in the National Solar Mission has never been greater, but this hot market is pushing solar tariffs to record and some believe, unviable lows, writes Raj Prabhu of Mercom Capital. Across the country, most states are pressing ahead with tenders and new policies that are slowly transforming Indias energy landscape.
Nov 15, 2015
Australias battery pilot on a grand scale
Battery storage: Batteries are flavor of the month Down Under. A quick wander around the All Energy trade show floor in Melbourne in October made that instantly apparent with a big number of suppliers, both domestic and foreign, displaying battery solutions for residential and commercial customers. There is no doubt that Australia will follow hot on Germanys heels as one of the early solar+storage markets. Whether it will play out favorably to ratepayers and solar consumers alike is less clear.
Nov 15, 2015
A giant awakens
300 MW Cestas project: As 2015 comes to an end, a European giant awakens. Over the past six months pv magazine has tracked the progress of Europes largest PV project, the Cestas project in Bourdeux, France, from the ground screws up. This final installment in a six article series brings the contribution of a French construction giant to light.
Nov 15, 2015
What to do when things heat up
Quality: The statistics say that Germany is home to numerous defective PV systems. In the Black Sheep series, pv magazine takes a closer look at individual cases. In one example, the parties involved came to an almost amenable agreement, but another case ended in a conflict with the manufacturer.
Nov 15, 2015
A shade better?
Maximum Power Point Trackers: The success that module-level power electronics suppliers have enjoyed in some of the worlds strongest solar markets has caught some of the more traditional inverter suppliers by surprise. Can a shift to dual or multi- MPPT string inverters help these companies claw back some of the market share lost to these module-level upstarts?
Nov 15, 2015
Britains solar future in doubt
United Kingdom: After a few years of astonishing success, the U.K.s PV sector is in turmoil and is fighting for survival. This years Solar Energy UK, held in Birmingham last month, reflected on the latest policy changes and laid bare a crucial question: what is the immediate and long term future for solar PV in the U.K.?
Nov 15, 2015
