Electric avenues – 09-2017
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Excerpt from the magazine
Light in a blackout
Microgrid development: Driven by their ability to operate during blackouts and provide ancillary grid services, microgrids are popping up all over the United States. As more microgrids emerge, clusters of them could transform the centralized grid to a decentralized grid of microgrids powered by renewables.
Sep 05, 2017
Out of the blocks, on to the track
Storage growth: For so long, energy storage has revved impatiently at the traffic lights, promising rapid acceleration but achieving only steady deployment speeds. But will a series of high profile acquisitions and movements within the sector yield the convergence of cash and confidence required to expedite the widespread adoption and cost reduction necessary to take storage into the fast lane?
Sep 05, 2017
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Thinning out the herd
hin film manufacturers ranking: Once again, pv magazine teams up with solar analysts at IHS Markit to present a rundown of the top manufacturers of thin film solar modules based on 2016 production figures, and a look at the state of the market for thin film technologies.
Sep 05, 2017
Jolywood JW-D60N module
With its JW-D60N module, Jolywood has implemented several state of the art technologies. The module cells employ n-type wafers, which allows higher efficiency and mitigates light induced degradation during the first 1,000 hours of illumination. This is a risk always present for p type cells, and may cost a few percentage points of energy yield. […]
Sep 05, 2017
The new module test
Module reliability: pv magazine’s new module test is kicking off. The first candidate is Jolywood with its bifacial n-Pert module. The test is designed to help investors in their module purchasing process, while at the same time allowing manufacturers to spot problems and improve their production processes.
Sep 05, 2017
Momentum builds for HJT
Cell production: While an inherently conservative business, PV cell production has evolved greatly in terms of cost and efficiency. Heterojunction cell architectures represent more of a step change, when compared to the PERC investment cycle currently underway. In this first of a two part HJT focus, pv magazine speaks to some of the leading technology providers for the high efficiency concept.
Sep 05, 2017
DEGER: an introduction
Solar trackers: The solar tracking market has never been more competitive or confident. As the solar industry grows, trackers are becoming a more vital component of ground-mounted PV plants. Here, Germany’s DEGER talks about tracking technology, the industry, and their own journey of innovation.
Sep 05, 2017
Prodding new markets
Module assembly: As solar PV becomes more accessible and affordable across the globe, more nations are turning to local PV manufacturing in a bid to stimulate the development of their renewable energy markets. Against the backdrop of tightening competition and rising quality expectations, pv magazine sheds light on emerging solar module manufacturing locations and their chances against mayor upstream PV hubs.
Sep 05, 2017
Retrofit for purpose
Junction box potential: Recent safety regulation updates in the U.S. and Europe could render vast swathes of rooftop solar installations non-compliant with new fire codes, potentially opening up a retrofit market for providers of components that can make arrays compliant. One cost-effective approach could well be the replacement of older junction boxes with newer, more sophisticated devices.
Sep 05, 2017
Building to become more competitive
India manufacturing: India will soon become the world’s third-largest solar market, surpassing Japan for annual installations. However, it has reached these heady heights on a foundation comprised of largely imported solar components from China, while the domestic manufacturing market remains underdeveloped. How might this change in the near future?
Sep 05, 2017
Spend a little, gain a lot
7th Quality Roundtable: pv magazine’s is bringing its Quality Roundtable format to Renewable Energy India this month to spark informed and engaging discussions about the key quality issues facing the country’s surging solar sector. PI Berlin’s Steven Xuereb will be among those presenting a topic for discussion, and here is a sneak peek at what to expect.
Sep 05, 2017
PID, soiling and module degradation in hot climates
PID in India: In the cost-conscious Indian solar sector, ensuring reliable power output should be the number one priority. However, an example of one solar farm suffering from the ill-effects of under-performing modules, installation malpractice and unsatisfactory maintenance shows how corner cutting from the outset is more damaging in the long run.
Sep 05, 2017
Out on the water
The rise of floating PV: Floating solar power solutions have emerged from a niche oddity to mainstream baseload; the latest Chinese tender set covers 1 GW worth of projects, potentially the new normal for FPV. Indeed, Ciel & Terre, the current market leader, says there could be 3 GW of FPV by 2020, per analysts’ predictions.
Sep 05, 2017
Developing a nose for performance
Monitoring: Having picked up a 2017 DSM SunRISE TechBridge Challenge award in June, SunSniffer is taking aim at the U.S. market, with its intelligent PV power plant monitoring system. While he hits on a number of buzzwords within the 2017 solar sector, not least digitization, SunSniffer CEO Ingmar Kruse says that there is a strong technological basis and financial case underpinning the solution.
Sep 05, 2017
Large-scale disruptor
Utility-scale storage: Past deployment has been steady, but 2017 appears to be the year large-scale battery storage begins achieving its disruptive potential. French developer Neoen is teaming with Tesla to deliver a 100 MWh storage array to strengthen the South Australian grid – which must be in place and installed by the time the summer peak electricity demand arrives.
Sep 05, 2017
Calculating the cost
Tracker maintenance: Trying to chase down O&M costs for trackers is a bit like a trip down Alice’s rabbit hole. The rich landscape of detail that materializes tends to obscure the original mission. pv magazine digs into the quandary to investigate whether the numbers stack up.
Sep 05, 2017
A slow yet inexorable advance
Distributed generation in Latin America: The improvement to, or introduction of, legislative frameworks favoring distributed generation is advancing at an unceasing pace in Latin America. Countries that already have legislation in place now want to get more power, and those who do not have it are quick to take their first steps to democratize energy. Subsidized electricity rates and difficulty in finding financing remain the biggest obstacles.
Sep 05, 2017
Wholesale market crisis
Electricity market: Sustained low wholesale power prices are driving coal, nuclear and even gas plant retirements, pushing independent power producers into the red, and spurring reforms of wholesale market structures. But even PV is not immune to these trends. pv magazine looks at the implications for the solar industry.
Sep 05, 2017
Getting into good habits
Remote habitation: Installing off-grid solar PV applications in many of the world’s remotest regions is not as straightforward a task as the beaming smiles of villagers may make it seem. But understanding the difficulties facing the remote habitation category are as crucial as overcoming them.
Sep 05, 2017
Revolving and sliding doors
It’s very much a case of deja vu. There’s something eerily familiar to the coming together of solar manufacturers, industry representatives and downstream participants with government officials, and diplomats in Washington DC that is currently underway as the pv magazine editorial puts the finishing touches to this bumper edition. The meeting is a result of […]
Sep 05, 2017
