Energy Storage Highlights 2018
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Excerpt from the magazine
PV poker game
With subdued demand over the past four to six weeks, prices have remained largely stable. Only certain products were offered at a discount over the previous month, which has led to minor price changes for high-efficiency modules and standard multicrystalline modules (mainstream). However, the price changes are actually smaller than the rounded index values make it appear, and are in the sub-0.5 euro cents per watt-peak range. Particularly with the major brands such as Hanwha Q Cells, JinkoSolar, and Canadian Solar, there is not much activity at the moment.
Sep 11, 2018
Solar stocks slipping
Solar stocks underperformed the broader market last month (7/30-8/24): The Guggenheim Solar ETF (TAN) dropped 3.8% versus the S&P 500 and Dow up 2.0% and 1.3%, respectively. Year-to-date (YTD), TAN has substan- tially underperformed the market, drop- ping 12.9%, compared with the S&P 500 and Dow up 7.5% and 4.3%. Within solar, the only two […]
Sep 11, 2018
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Clean energy versus gas
Solar and energy storage, either on their own or as part of clean energy portfolios, are showing that they can compete with natural gas in the United States. But will regulators wake up to this reality before half a trillion dollars worth of future stranded assets are built?
Sep 11, 2018
Hanging in the balance
As U.S. President Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran, many solar companies – predominantly from Europe – were in the process of developing massive project pipelines in the country. These are now in jeopardy, even with the blocking statute imposed by the EU. Those seeking to pursue plans demand safe financial channels from the EU in order to continue developing PV projects, and to signal a clear commitment to the Iran Nuclear Deal.
Sep 11, 2018
Testing the water
If India covers just one third of its major water reservoirs with floating solar installations, it could generate as much as 700 GW of solar power. However, it’s still early days for floating solar in the country, given the lack of technical experience and higher implementation costs.
Sep 11, 2018
A new test for trackers
The benefits of deploying bifacial solar panels on single-axis trackers are touted like snake oil these days, with promises of anywhere from 5 to 50% gains in energy output compared with a monofacial panel. Unfortunately, the field data that might delineate the actual energy gain of a bifacial panel on a tracker are hard to acquire, and the data that are available typically describe small-scale tests under tightly defined conditions.
Sep 11, 2018
Soft services, hard impacts
The application of IoT, tapping, and analytics of big data, and much hyped applications like blockchain are making an impact on the solar PV sector and related devices, and also their interactions with the grid. But software has played an important role in the evolution of our industry dating back some 30 years.
Sep 11, 2018
EV charging meets Blockchain
There are a number of reasons to be bullish on electric vehicles. Government support is growing, battery prices are falling, and the technology is constantly developing. But, for the prospect of owning an electric car to become even more attractive, existing EV charging infrastructure needs to be enhanced. This is where blockchain comes in.
Sep 11, 2018
No shock for US rooftops
As solar power approaches two million rooftops in the United States, the National Electric Code (NEC) has become increasingly demanding in the name of protecting first responders. Starting in 2014, the NEC began an evolution with a goal of reducing the risk of shock hazard when fighting fires. The pathway would be via“rapid shutdown.”
Sep 11, 2018
Array Changing Technologies
As another year of solar innovations marches on, with exciting new products and models being introduced up and down the supply chain, pv magazine has brought together a jury of industry experts to honor those technologies whose potential is truly Array Changing. Here, we’ve added another 10 innovations to those featured back in June, and tasked our expert jury with deciding on five standout entries from the list. These select finalists will also qualify as candidates for the inaugural pv magazine Award, which will be given at the end of the year and cover all of the industry’s major segments. First though, a preview of 10 new products added to the list since June.
Sep 11, 2018
Self-consumption and remote control
With energy increasingly going digital, and the reduction or removal of solar subsidies in many leading markets, it’s an exciting time for inverter technology. pv magazine had the chance to catch up with Justin Claxton, Global Strategic Manager at China-based inverter supplier SolaX Power, on the company’s latest market moves and innovations.
Sep 11, 2018
Backsheets to the future
As backsheet manufacturers aim to keep up with cost reductions up and down the PV supply chain, new processes and materials are appearing, with claims to offer better performance as a moisture barrier, as well as better acetic acid permeability and higher reflectivity, among other features. pv magazine examines the state of the market for PV backsheets, and takes a look at some of the new material innovations that are gaining ground with module manufacturers.
Sep 11, 2018
Taking the wrap
It’s nothing new, but at this scale and in Europe it represents a significant endeavor. The team from Dutch startup module maker Energyra is currently overseeing the assembly and installation of a hulking multi-stack laminator from SM InnoTech, front-end metalization line, and back-end module assembly equipment at its 100 MW fab in Holland’s Zaanstad region. And beyond bringing module production back to Europe, the Energyra endeavor is notable for its choice of technology: metal wrap through (MWT) PERC.
Sep 11, 2018
Patchwork of progress
The years 2017 and 2018 have seen a revival of thin film manufacturing plans, most promisingly in China. However, the 31/5 policy changes have led to unstable footing on which to base capacity expansions – a situation lost on none, including reigning thin film giant First Solar.
Sep 11, 2018
Nobody said it was easy
Solar manufacturing industries have shown similar characteristics across Latin America: low to medium technological level (with very few exceptions), relatively small capacities, high dependence on national policy, limited scope of exports, need for more automation, and lack of vertically integrated manufacturing. Here, pv magazine provides a snapshot of manufacturing across the region’s leading markets.
Sep 11, 2018
Decision-making through data
According to a study conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, companies that use data-driven decision-making are 5% more productive and profitable than their competitors. Jean-Yves Bellet, cofounder and VP-CTO of QOS Energy asks,“Can we apply the results of this study to solar PV operations and maintenance?” Today, solar plant owners expect to generate value from their data using real-time decision-making tools, analytics, and machine learning models.
Sep 11, 2018
Seven trends to make or break corporate PPAs
Something interesting is happening in the PV market. We’re not just seeing an emergence of corporate power purchase agreements (cPPAs) in parity geographies – but also compelling innovation in the commercial models which underpin them. Despite the challenges of offtaker risk, contract duration, and assorted other contractual oddities when financing renewable energy projects in this way, leading lenders are just about getting used to the idea of private offtake agreements. But are they ready for other commercial-disrupters like blockchain,‘power and flexibility agreements,’ pooling of medium-sized energy suppliers, and PV-storage hybrid projects?
Sep 11, 2018
Hydrogen and PV – soon to be a profitable combination
Hydrogen for the chemicals industry, for large cargo vehicles and as a substitute for natural gas: There are attractive applications for the eternal‘energy source of the future.’ It also creates new marketing opportunities for solar power. After all, the production of green hydrogen needs two things: cheap electricity and water.
Sep 11, 2018
