Connected to quality – 04-2020
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pv magazine Events 2020
The unfolding Covid-19 crisis has impacted solar events around the world (see pp. 19). Many events have been canceled or postponed, reducing opportunities for knowledge exchange, community building, and networking. It has also deprived companies of the chance to generate new leads and introduce new products and collaborations to a live audience. But don’t fret – pv magazine has a growing suite of solutions.
Apr 06, 2020
Greening finance
The world is watching to see whether signatories to the Paris Agreement can increase emission reduction targets to match the 1.5°C goal. While Covid-19 and oil shocks rock the markets and delay negotiations, if the financial community is given the correct information, tools and frameworks to shift its focus, the transition to a low carbon greener future may yet be assured. Felicia Jackson in London explores the implications of the EU’s Climate Law and the Green Deal that it promotes.
Apr 06, 2020
Testing reveals what matters in batteries
An independent testing program for battery systems has revealed what failures can occur, and the key factors that underpin reliable battery operation and supply. Canberra-based ITP Renewables is carrying out the testing program and reports on its first two phases.
Apr 06, 2020
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New technologies mean new approaches
Measuring the performance of a solar cell is a tricky affair, and even more so for new technologies such as perovskites and tandem cells. In the laboratory, these are measured over a period of several minutes to ensure accurate characterization. But as technology continues its journey toward commercial production, ensuring an accurate power rating without slowing down the manufacturing process presents a new challenge both for suppliers of flash testing equipment and those working on bringing perovskite solar cells and tandem devices featuring them to market.
Apr 06, 2020
Mobilizing Europe for perovskite PV
As a relatively new and rapidly emerging PV technology, perovskites present an opportunity for the European Union to once again play a prominent role in solar manufacturing. So argues Louis Huber from the European Perovskite Initiative, a group that is trying to coordinate European perovskite PV activities across research, industry and politics.
Apr 06, 2020
2020: The decade of perovskite PV
About 10 years ago, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) made their entry into the world of PV with a power conversion efficiency of 3.8%. Fast forward to 2020, and PSCs are the talk of the town, with a string of impressive laboratory achievements to their name. Global research efforts have shifted toward PSCs as efficiencies keep on getting thrashed on a regular basis. But is it too soon to say that the technology is ready for commercialization?
Apr 06, 2020
Carriers key for quality cell surfaces
The path to lower solar LCOE can be painful; just ask a PV manufacturer. However, ever-larger crystalline wafers may cause more pain than they are worth, argues Gerry Knoch, the managing director of wet bench provider exateq. For high efficiency, eliminating cross contamination in wet processes is vital and can be achieved – with carriers playing an important role.
Apr 06, 2020
Understanding LeTID
Light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) of PV cells can have far-reaching impacts on the efficiency of modules. Alison Ciesla and Brett Hallam of the University of New South Wales argue that accelerated testing, such as that included in the forthcoming IEC standards, is critical for LeTID identification and quantification in order to manage these impacts.
Apr 06, 2020
Made in Israel
A reformed electricity market, officials who are supportive of PV’s new competitive position, and growing renewable energy ambitions are driving significant growth in Israel’s solar market this year. And with its homegrown hero in the background, solutions for the country to become a clean energy leader could already be in place.
Apr 06, 2020
‘We’re better off without standards’
Many factors are important in ballasting flat roof systems, such as wind speed and roof shape. In the past, however, wind force has unfortunately been underestimated, says wind expert Hans Ruscheweyh. pv magazine addressed this topic in a recent webinar with initiative partner Schletter, and drew several interesting points from the discussion.
Apr 06, 2020
Right tools, right tenders: Building a quality framework in India
“Quality control is expensive.” This common misperception is largely responsible for many of the product defects, design mistakes, and bad practices in the construction and commissioning of PV plants in several markets around the world. Strong downward price pressure underlined by reverse-auctions has created a false assumption that a budget for quality control is not necessary – as PI Berlin’s work in India is revealing.
Apr 06, 2020
EL to the field: Assessing plant health
Electroluminescence imaging is gaining traction in the field at project sites for operations and maintenance and to support PV plant mergers and acquisitions. EL testing can help PV asset owners evaluate power plant system health and can predict potential future underperformance and failures. Tristan Erion-Lorico, the head of PVEL’s module business, and dowstream business chief Andrew Sundling discuss the outlook for this enabling technology.
Apr 06, 2020
More or less
How much granularity in monitoring and optimization is enough? Module-level power electronics have been a popular addition to the residential segment and, for several reasons, have enjoyed growing popularity on commercial rooftops. But where is the limit? While there are the first ground-mount installations with MLPE, other companies suggest that less is more and scaled down their optimization and monitoring granularity.
Apr 06, 2020
Investigations continue
Since 2014, pv magazine has investigated cases reported from our readers of PV projects where various issues related to installation and component quality have caused construction delays, failures or underperformance. The most recent of these demonstrate the breadth of quality issues that can arise.
Apr 06, 2020
Regulatory changes pave the C&I way
A growing number of companies in Indonesia, particularly multinationals that implement green policies or are listed as RE100 participants, are poised to adopt rooftop PV. Regulatory changes and signals from the country’s previous government, which supported coal, are paving the way for significant growth.
Apr 06, 2020
South Korea’s floating ambition
Every summer, millions flock to a festival in the city of Boryeong, 200 km south of Seoul. The community offers visitors the chance to strip down and cake themselves in mud from the local tidal flats – a key geographic feature of the Korean Peninsula’s west coast. Another 50 km to the south lies the Saemangeum Seawall – the world’s longest manmade sea dyke, and the planned site of a massive 2.1 GW, state-backed floating PV installation.
Apr 06, 2020
Faltering grid curtails, delays, stalls solar
It’s no secret that Australia’s surge in utility-scale solar and wind – some 4.4 GW commissioned in 2018-19, and a further 3.5 GW expected in 2020 – has overwhelmed sections of the grid. An array of actions and innovations spurred by a recent curtailment crisis in the West Murray region of New South Wales will help crack the code to successful energy transition in Australia and beyond.
Apr 06, 2020
Event horizon
The wave of cancellations in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic starkly illustrates the solar industry’s reliance on trade shows, conferences, and other events. Event organizers, exhibitors, and attendees from across the supply chain are now eagerly investigating alternatives, given the current restrictions and broader uncertainty regarding the future. While it’s too early to draw conclusions, it’s clear that there will be lasting effects on the way the industry operates when it comes to planning events and travel.
Apr 06, 2020
Last event standing
It should have been among the first major trade show events of 2020, but it has ended up being one of the last – for a couple of months, at least. Tokyo’s World Smart Energy Week, of which PV Expo is a part, was held at the end of February, with considerably fewer visitors and exhibitors filling the trade show floor, as the coronavirus pandemic began to unfold.
Apr 06, 2020
PV in the pandemic
“Unprecedented” appears to be a frequently used term to describe the Covid-19 crisis that the global economy, our societies and healthcare systems are now facing. And while outbreaks of severe and potentially life-threatening diseases have occurred at various stages in the modern age, our globally connected reality today means that the coronavirus could have impacts that are truly without precedent.
Apr 06, 2020
Quality benchmarking in times of tariffs
The PV industry’s rapid factory expansions and quick product rollouts lead to a constant balancing act between the streamlining of production and the introduction of new features to push the boundaries of power generation and achieve lower LCOE. Given these competing factors, CEA has brought together its data based on experience in providing third-party quality assurance oversight to produce its Supplier Benchmarking Program. Joseph Johnson, CEA’s lead analyst for solar and storage, digs into the data.
Apr 06, 2020
Decommissioning coal – an opportunity for energy storage?
Coal has underpinned power generation for more than a century as a cheap, reliable and well understood technology, writes IHS Markit analyst George Hilton. Decommissioning of coal generation, in light of global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, will radically change the energy landscape and potentially leave a substantial gap to be filled by energy storage technologies.
Apr 06, 2020
Covid-19 beats Fridays for Future
I am not alone in seeing parallels between the threat posed by the virus and the need to advance the fight against climate change. Unfortunately, the only fundamental difference between the two crises is how we deal with them. To contain the spread of Covid-19, heads of state and regional politicians are imposing measures that become more drastic by the day. But when it comes to the climate crisis, hope seems to be the guiding principle. At some point we will come up with something that prevents or reverses climate change; the main thing is to keep the economy roaring and to not make any serious changes.
Apr 06, 2020
Life after Covid-19
Whether it’s two, three, six months or more, there will be an end to the Covid-19 pandemic. But when restrictions begin to lift and the “hammer” becomes the “dance” stage of the management strategy, various segments of the solar market will burst back to life. But where will it leave us? Some argue that such […]
Apr 06, 2020
