Search for buoyancy – 10-2017
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The feasibility of solar-powered hydrogen production
Storing solar energy: There is a solid business case to combine PV plants with electrolyzers, as generation costs are low enough to competitively produce hydrogen as a fuel, says Bjørn Simonsen of NEL Hydrogen. He was a speaker at pv magazine’s Future PV Roundtable event at Solar Power International in Las Vegas last month.
Oct 05, 2017
The missing piece for Germany’s Energiewende?
World’s largest battery: Be it lead, lithium, water, or gas – there are many ways to store energy nowadays. However, the technology is often too expensive to deploy, or is at too early a stage or dependent on certain geographical conditions. In cooperation with the University of Jena, German utility company EWE plans to build the world’s largest battery storage facility using redox flow technology. Could this 120 MW battery project be the missing link for Germany’s ‘Energiewende’?
Oct 05, 2017
Shedding light on the latest technologies
Flash testing: As module manufacturing looks increasingly towards high efficiency concepts such as heterojunction as the future of the industry, new challenges arise for the manufacturers of production-line testing equipment. Switzerland-based flash testing specialist Alfartec is ready to meet these challenges. pv magazine recently caught up with Chief Technology Officer Alo Lo to discuss the latest developments in flashing technology and the market for this specialized equipment.
Oct 05, 2017
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Nanotechnology for Li-ion
Battery performance: There remains significant scope to improve and extend the application of lithium-ion batteries. John Duffy of U.K. characterization experts Malvern Panalytical and Stefan Mende of Germany’s NETZSCH Fine Grinding Technology explain the finer points of nanostructured electrode materials in Li-ion technology.
Oct 04, 2017
Dial n-type for high efficiency
Cell production: A focus on incremental improvements along the mainstream p-type PV cell pathway has been the dominant trend in manufacturing for some time. However, momentum is building for n-type cell architectures, paving the way for high efficiency concepts such n-type heterojunction and PERT.
Oct 04, 2017
Targeting quality at PV Taiwan
pv magazine Quality Roundtable: At the PV Taiwan exhibition, coming to Taipei in October, pv magazine will host the 8th edition of its Quality Roundtable. The event will focus on module and component reliability in humid and sometimes extreme weather conditions.
Oct 04, 2017
Renewables and mining
Remote off-grid systems: The mining industry creates the raw materials that make up the technologies powering the energy transition. For example, every megawatt of solar PV requires four metric tons of copper to build. Increasingly, these renewables are powering the mining operations that create their source material. However, transitioning the mining industry away from fossil fuels will require renewable developers to speak the language of miners, and to sell renewables on the value they provide beyond a lower cost of electricity.
Oct 04, 2017
Come together: consumption and generation
Inverters: SolarEdge was chosen as one of two runners up for the 2017 Array Changing Technologies award for its Smart Energy Management solution. Lior Handelsman, SolarEdge’s Founder and VP of Marketing and Product Strategy, says that the awards highlight the importance of integrating rooftop PV production with energy management within the home or business.
Oct 04, 2017
Reinventing the wheel
Flywheel storage: Amber Kinetics is the winner of 2017’s Array Changing Technologies Award, chosen by an independent jury of industry experts as the most exciting technology in the downstream sector. pv magazine caught up with cofounder and CEO Ed Chiao to discuss the technology’s potential and what Amber Kinetics has planned over the next few years.
Oct 04, 2017
With the sun to independence
Solar in Haiti: Only one in three of the approximately 11 million people in Haiti has access to electricity. Agricultural entrepreneur and incumbent President Jovenel Moïse wants to electrify the entire country within 24 months, focusing on renewable sources of energy. While experts see the project as particularly ambitious, a range of small and large initiatives in the field of solar energy are rapidly springing up in Haiti.
Oct 04, 2017
Middle ease?
MENA’s inverter landscape: The momentum for solar PV in the Middle East and North Africa region is strong, with experts anticipating 4 GW of growth this year. However, the unique opportunities and challenges facing this part of the world create a distinct set of circumstances for solar players. So how is the inverter landscape shaping up?
Oct 04, 2017
Minimalist mounting
EPC in Australia: Germany’s EPC powerhouse Belectric has installed its first new PEG fixed-tilt ground-mounted PV design in Australia, and is planning two more before year end. Belectric claims that the system provides the lowest levelized cost of energy among all other competitors’ offerings in the country
Oct 04, 2017
Back to the front
Interview: SunPower is famous for its back contact cells, boasting one of the industry’s most advanced technologies. Josh Moore, SunPower Director, explains why the company is now ramping up 600 MW of production for different types of front contact cells and shingled modules.
Oct 04, 2017
The potential for PV-powered hydrogen production
PV+hydrogen: ITM Power exhibited new designs for hydrogen refueling stations last month at Solar Power International (SPI). The U.K. clean fuel specialist announced plans in early September to install a 10 MW hydrogen electrolyzer at a Shell refinery in Germany, and signed a deal to provide renewably powered electrolyzers for hydrogen fuel-cell buses in France. Chief Executive Graham Cooley spoke to pv magazine about the Sheffield-based company’s new refueling stations and the potential to use solar panels to produce hydrogen as a clean fuel.
Oct 04, 2017
Iran’s solar steps
Iranian PV: In 2014 Iran announced an ambitious 5 GW renewables goal, but progress proved slow, primarily due to the difficulty many foreign firms have investing in the country. Since the lifting of UN sanctions last year, however, the situation on the ground has been slowly changing – and European solar firms have already begun moving in, as pv magazine discovered.
Oct 04, 2017
High figures, mixed feelings
Distributed storage in Australia: As installation figures continue to show a strong upward trend of battery penetration, Australia is persistently reaffirming its status as the market to be in for storage providers. Standards Australia’s proposed installation safety guidelines caused a commotion earlier this year, dimming the industry’s high hopes. Amid a lot of hype surrounding the Australian battery storage arena, pv magazine explores whether this promising market is developing as anticipated.
Oct 04, 2017
Solar SOS
Mobile solar: Instances of severe weather events have been more frequent and more visible across North America and the Caribbean these past few weeks. When disaster strikes, society springs into action, but one of the unsung heroes of the relief effort is mobile solar power, which can bring reliable and emergency electricity to regions cut off from the grid in an instant.
Oct 04, 2017
The guessing game goes on
So much of the solar industry hinges on educated guesses. Whether technical, political or financial, the winds of change that constantly blow across the bows of the PV world can always be felt, if not predicted. At the time of going to press, the impact – or lack thereof – of the Section 201 case […]
Oct 04, 2017
