2017: MENA means solar – 01-2017
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More revenue for storage system owners
Battery business models: until now, domestic power storage systems have been a way to increase self-sufficiency and provide backup in case of power outage. Storage providers in Germany are now using small batteries to market reserve power. Their models can even finance flat rates for electricity.
Feb 06, 2017
“Turnkey means a deeper level of engagement”
Turnkey production equipment: Solar manufacturers and project developers have long been praised for having achieved startling and impressive cost reductions. The role of production equipment suppliers may have been undersung, according to Mondragon Assembly’s Solar Business Director Iñaki Legarda-Ereño, who argues that the window for turnkey equipment suppliers remains open.
Feb 06, 2017
The right industry, the future of PV
Thin film: The latest wave of crystalline silicon price reductions will undoubtedly create major challenges for the remaining thin film producers to navigate. Nonetheless, Avancis’ technology may be heading towards GW of capacity in China, through its new owners CNBM. With the building materials giant in the background, Franz Karg believes the BIPV market is about to be cracked.
Feb 06, 2017
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Increasing value, increasing quality
Interview: 2016 was a tough year for some solar companies, but for JinkoSolar it was a 12 months marked by a continuation of growth that saw the Tier 1 company crowned the world’s leading module manufacturer. CEO Kangping Chen explains to pv magazine what drives the company, and reveals his thoughts on the year that lies ahead.
Feb 06, 2017
Roadmap to cost reduction
Interview: Technological innovation plays a key role in bringing down the cost of solar through better efficiencies, both in production and the modules themselves. pv magazine spoke with Pierre Verlinden, Chief Scientist at Trina Solar’s State Key Lab and Vice President of the company, about the latest developments in their research.
Feb 06, 2017
A lifetime of monitoring
Central inverters: The development of the solar industry has brought with it greater understanding of lifetime costs – how to calculate them, measure them, and lower them. The onus on inverter suppliers to deliver such metrics quickly and transparently has grown, with central inverters keen to show their worth in this maturing field.
Feb 06, 2017
Purchasing power
Corporate energy procurement: The signing of a power purchase agreement (PPA) is a key point in the development of a pv project. Most PPAs are agreements between an energy provider and a utility, however, similar agreements have been used in corporate energy procurement. Energy law experts from Stoel Rives LLP take an in depth look at the use of corporate PPAs in the USA.
Feb 06, 2017
On track for a strong year
Global tracker outlook: The tracker market is set for unbridled expansion in 2017. The United States already accounts for about 70% of the global tracker market, and is expected to boom this year, according to an informal survey of leading tracker manufacturers.
Feb 06, 2017
The breaking point
Module testing: Physics of Failure is an approach to testing and designing for reliability used in many “mission-critical” industries such as military hardware, aerospace and automotive manufacturing. And while the solar PV industry is beginning to investigate Physics of Failure, many questions remain unanswered.
Feb 06, 2017
Citizen power: Arne Jungjohann talks Energy Democracy
Interview: In December Energy Democracy, a book telling the story of Germany’s Energiewende from the perspective of citizen ownership of renewable energy, hit the shelves. The book is the latest collaboration of Political Scientist Arne Jungjohann and Writer and Translator Craig Morris, who worked together on the German Energy Transition website (energytransition.de). pv magazine caught up with Jungjohann to talk about the book, and why citizen involvement in energy is important.
Feb 06, 2017
Mini-grids, major impacts
Southeast Asia development: The IEA’s 2011 World Energy Outlook estimated that nearly half of all unelectrified rural areas would be most economically served by mini-grid solutions. Given that much of Southeast Asia is made up of archipelagos, electrification through mini-grids looks set to play an especially prominent role in this region.
Feb 06, 2017
Rooftop renaissance
Italian solar: After a significant slowdown of the solar sector in the past four years, PV module prices have recently fallen dramatically. Italy is in line with the rest of Europe where, according to the most recent IEA statistics report, the industry decline has begun to slow, in spite of rapid cost decreases all across the value chain.
Feb 06, 2017
A new year, a new dawn
Emerging markets: Energy investors are always on the lookout for new emerging markets that meet or exceed the industry’s expectations. With the new year just begun, pv magazine examines some of the potential solar stars of 2017, and the conditions most likely to deliver strong growth.
Feb 06, 2017
Awarding innovation
Zayed Future Energy Prize: Since it was first awarded in 2008, the Zayed Future Energy Prize has quickly grown to become a leading prize for companies in the cleantech world. This year’s prize, to be awarded in January 2017, consists of a total fund of $4 million. Managed by Abu Dhabi renewables specialist Masdar, the fund will be distributed across several different categories.
Feb 06, 2017
What’s on the horizon for MENA?
Utility-scale update: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) always seems to linger longingly in solar industry conversations, as the region of the world with the most untapped pv potential. Analaysts have long predicted that once solar finally drops here, it’s going to drop big. 2016 was a big year for solar in the MENA region, probably the best yet, leading to increased hope that it could stand up as the torchbearer amongst oil-rich regions for the deployment of solar energy.
Feb 06, 2017
Wild West
Though the US period romantically termed the Wild Wild West took place over a few years in the mid-1870s, lore and its unique mix of wildness, ambition and determination offer a good analogy for the US solar industry. Look at it this way, in the 1870s pioneers, cowboys, politicians and others set forth across the continent to establish better lives. They came in search of gold and land. They came prepared and unprepared. Primarily they came with hope.
Feb 06, 2017
Welcome to 2017!
There runs a persistent and slightly pernicious line of thought that would place 2016 as one of the worst years in human history. Sure, the near-incessant stream of depressing news stories appeared to arrive at a fair clip last year, but taking a broader view, 2016 was a continuation of certain positive trends that we […]
Feb 06, 2017
