Turkish market at a crossroads – 03-2019
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On the Road with pv magazine
Where we’ve been – BePositive: Lyon, France Image: pv magazine/ Andrea Jeremias Image: pv magazine/ Andrea Jeremias The BePositive fair held in mid-February in Lyon, France, has seen an increasing presence of Asian solar product providers, a signal that the French solar energy market is now more open than in the past to international players. […]
Mar 12, 2019
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Do you walk the talk?
Sustainability. Cradle to cradle. The circular economy. These issues are reaching a tipping point. We need to recognize them, own them, and build them into our business models. Indeed, by being true green leaders and encouraging others in the industry to do the same, we’ll not only be a driving force behind the right revolution […]
Mar 12, 2019
Demystifying bifacial
A few years ago, nobody took bifacial seriously. It was just another attempt to improve module efficiency and returns from PV projects that little bit further. But as is so often the case with the PV sector, things can move more quickly than expected. With bifacial installations set for a big year in 2019, Ragna Schmidt-Haupt, partner at technical and commercial energy consultancy Everoze shines a light on the remaining challenges to making projects bankable.
Mar 12, 2019
pv magazine test – January 2019 results
We are happy to present to the next batch of pv magazine test energy yield results. Results from the pv magazine test installation in Xi’an, China for the month of January 2019 are presented below, with additional insight provided by George Touloupas, Director of Technology and Quality at CEA.
Mar 12, 2019
Flexible CIGS rolls out on new tools
PV production equipment suppliers across Europe and the United States are racing to provide Chinese manufacturers with tools to process gigawatts of thin film modules. CIGS manufacturing, which has struggled to flourish in crystalline silicon’s shadow, is trending towards flexible, lightweight products.
Mar 12, 2019
Making the connection
Recent years have seen plenty of innovation when it comes to cell interconnection, and the tricks manufacturers employ to boost output at this stage nowadays go well beyond simply adding more busbars, and in many new module concepts these are forgone entirely. Synergies between cell interconnection and new innovations at other stages will also be key in shaping the modules of the future.
Mar 12, 2019
Human vs. machine
Some manufacturers have started to bring self-learning algorithms and artificial intelligence into their monitoring systems and have indicated this in our market overview. In this way, they seek to reduce the personnel costs of O&M service providers. Although humans still have the upper hand in many processes, artificial intelligence is on the rise.
Mar 12, 2019
Total control
For the new edition of our monitoring system overview, 35 companies have answered detailed questions on 77 systems. Among the most important distinguishing features are the level of detail and presentation of the data, the compatibility of the devices and platforms, the types of fault management and control functions, and, of course, the price.
Mar 12, 2019
Delays spell disaster for RCR
Too big, too fast: The solar industry is littered with graves of companies that flew too high and were burnt by the sun. There will be no second rising for Australian EPC RCR Tomlinson, which learned that fortunes can fade with frightening alacrity in the PV project business.
Mar 12, 2019
Solar carports thrive on dual-use concept
Multiple drivers are increasing the rollout of solar carports. As with all things PV, cost is an important factor, and is heading in the right direction to see this application move out of the niche and into the mainstream. EV adoption could also prove decisive here.
Mar 12, 2019
Masdar City’s change of tack, second wind
Cool air, funneled through the narrow streets of historic cities in the Middle East provide welcome relief from the heat during scorching summer days. This was one of the architectural principles deployed by the studio of Sir Norman Foster, when designing the central ‘podium’ of Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City. But after the ambitious development encountered dead calm, in the form of a lack of interest from investors in the wake of the global financial crisis, a change of tack was required for the project to catch a second wind.
Mar 12, 2019
The energy to deal with corruption
Vast amounts of money are being mobilized worldwide in the name of the transition to renewable sources of energy, and while development banks and similar organizations funding PV projects have stringent measures in place, there are plenty of opportunities for corruption to sneak in. pv magazine investigates how corruption can hurt the solar industry.
Mar 12, 2019
Mega projects, mega problems
The clouds gathering over Turkey’s 1 GW solar park in Konya, the first YEKA tender, are dominating discussions among PV players in the country. Developments surrounding the Konya tender illustrate the Turkish solar market’s challenges, as the country’s unsteady economy and its policy preference for local manufacturing appear to be acting as a break on installations.
Mar 12, 2019
The land of the Crescent Sun
Despite its abundant solar resources, Turkey’s potential for solar energy development remains largely untapped. Although the market grew considerably between 2017 and 2018, the outlook for the next two years, due to the macroeconomic situation and the current regulatory framework, appears rather gloomy. If regulations will not be changed, and tenders for large-scale solar remain unimproved, unsubsidized PV and self-consumption may remain the best options available to seek more growth.
Mar 12, 2019
Exponential or slow growth?
The Turkish solar market finds itself at a crossroads in 2019, with previous policy settings coming to an end and more questions than answers being raised by recent government efforts. While the YEKA projects to date have delivered little in terms of installations, Muren Guler from Global Energy Ltd believes that ‘Mini YEKA’ could provide just the boost manufacturers, suppliers, and developers are looking for.
Mar 12, 2019
What sustainable solar means to Turkey
There is no denying that Turkey is an ideal fit for a major solar market and key player in the PV sector, located on the border between east and west. But while the country has shone as a solar star this decade, writes Eren Engür, Managing Partner at Icarus Energy, it is quickly fading as the government has failed to promote a sustainable solar sector. However, this could be about to change.
Mar 12, 2019
The best laid plans…
China’s mid-2018 bombshell announcement concerning its domestic solar program changed overnight the trajectory of the global solar industry, and this is not hyperbole. To recap, changes included temporarily halting utility-scale deployment, lowering the FIT, shifting economic responsibility to the provincial governments, and, in a related move, attempting (one more time) to control the country’s debt problem.
Mar 12, 2019
Inverter suppliers go digital
More than 11 million PV inverters will be shipped in 2019 alone, and most of these will be connected to a software platform and controlled by the inverter companies. This creates an opportunity for suppliers to create new models and revenue sources, writes Cormac Gilligan, research and analysis manager at IHS Markit. And indeed, in recent years inverter suppliers have been rapidly developing ‘Internet of things’ software platforms to take advantage of this.
Mar 12, 2019
China’s PV policy still under discussion
Although the National Energy Administration (NEA) held a seminar to talk about the development of the 13th five-year plan last November, a positive signal for domestic demand, the Chinese government still has not released new official targets for solar, as of February 2019.
Mar 12, 2019
Groundhog Day…
Numerous indicators point to an impending sharp decline in PV installations, at least in Germany, after March 31. Availability is poor, prices have largely stagnated since the beginning of the year, and manufacturers have postponed or canceled promised deliveries from Asia. As a result of monthly reductions in feed-in tariffs, we are now seeing a full-fledged run on the few lots of modules still available on short notice. With each passing month, anxiety mounts over whether urgently needed components will be delivered on time. When deadlines are broken, installers face harsh contractual penalties, while system operators rack up major losses. Yet module producers seem to be taking all this in stride.
Mar 12, 2019
PV feeling the spring fever
The investor sentiment in the solar sector was very strong in February. Month-to-date (MTD), the Guggenheim Solar ETF (TAN) increased 4.7% versus the S&P 500 and Dow that gained 2.6% and 3.4% respectively. The sector outperformance was mainly driven by China’s potential new solar policy which reintroduces PV subsidies at the national level, and also […]
Mar 12, 2019
Stay flexible, it’s necessary
Sometimes it’s necessary to stick to your guns, follow that in which you believe, and stay the course. But other times, you need to stay flexible and adjust to what’s in front of you. And in the solar and cleantech sector in general, the latter is more often the case than the former. This is […]
Mar 12, 2019
