The energy access issue – 07-2020
Already a subscriber?
Login
Excerpt from the magazine
Solar’s warranty risk
The warranty risk of solar must be addressed early in the development phase of PV projects, as it is not possible to buy warranty insurance later during the operational phase. Decisions taken by developers at this stage will remain important for the next 25 years. The good news is that an industry standard exists, and it can be easily and cost-effectively applied to most PV projects, writes Ronald Sastrawan from Munich Re.
Jul 13, 2020
Farm to table, the energy way
The emergence of the prosumer has been a feature of the rise of rooftop solar. But it can go far beyond the individual household or business, argues Frédéric Gastaldo, CEO of Tiko Energy Solutions. Gastaldo says that by connecting PV and other renewable arrays, true energy communities can emerge – accelerating clean energy uptake.
Jul 13, 2020
Subscribe now for instant access to this issue and every published issue since 2016.
Subscribe
Older modules for reuse, not refuse
Faulty modules and failures can destroy a PV project’s economics. But the modules themselves should not be destroyed, argues Eszter Voroshazi, the R&D manager of photovoltaics and energy systems at imec. She believes that modules can find a useful second life in price-sensitive solar markets.
Jul 13, 2020
Award inverters
After last month’s edition saw a range of inverter entries from the first window designed for the residential market, the second batch of the same window will showcase entries designed for large C&I and utility-scale applications. The residential inverters were packed with functions and battery integration features to improve on self-consumption or simply to boost the system safety. This development trend is not confined to the residential market, as these award applications demonstrate.
Jul 13, 2020
Roundtables Europe 2020 – Digital, connected, bigger than ever
It was going to be ambitious: four Roundtables with scores of speakers and panelists covering the major themes facing the solar industry in Europe today, in front of a vibrant community of solar professionals. The pv magazine Roundtables Europe 2020 program was always going to be big, bold and comprehensive. And then came Covid-19.
Jul 13, 2020
Machine learning: ‘New electricity’ enabling access
Andrew Ng, a leading educator in machine learning, has described the technology as “the new electricity” for its ability to transform modern society. The roughly 780 million people globally without electricity access would happily settle for just the “old” electricity. But a growing amount of data from smart meters, satellite imagery, and other sources has allowed machine learning to play a bigger role in advancing energy access, as Dustin Zubke reports.
Jul 13, 2020
PV + e-mobility = economic development
Mobility in rural Kenya is currently flooded with unsustainable CO2-emitting motorcycles that pose a threat to the environment and public health. But the electric tricycle is an environmentally friendly alternative, and Solar E-cycles – a homegrown Kenyan startup – believes a leasing model could unlock a ton of three-wheeled potential.
Jul 13, 2020
Bangladesh’s renewables pioneer dreams of a ‘solar nation’
Dipal C Barua started installing rooftop solar systems in Bangladesh when the PV industry itself was in its infancy, with his company Grameen Shakti. Now heading up the Bright Green Energy Foundation, Barua installs small residential systems, streetlights, and irrigation pumps throughout rural Bangladesh under various government programs.
Jul 13, 2020
‘It is time for Indonesia to become a solar powerhouse’
The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), a Jakarta-based think tank, has emerged as a key voice calling for solar development in Indonesia. pv magazine recently caught up with Marlistya Citraningrum, the institute’s program manager for sustainable energy access, to look at what is still needed on the policy side for the archipelago nation to realize its massive PV potential.
Jul 13, 2020
Pacific Islands embrace solar power to change lives
A profound shift is taking place in the Pacific Islands as countries move away from imported fossil fuels to explore their abundant solar potential and alleviate energy poverty. Over the last decade, the region’s energy transition has swung into full gear, driving the development of a whole new industry. Bruce Clay, general manager of Fiji-based EPC Clay Energy and president of the Sustainable Energy Industry Association of the Pacific Islands (SEIPA), talks about the market dynamics and region-specific challenges of unlocking solar power, on and off the grid.
Jul 13, 2020
Empowering reconciliation
Western Australia’s Horizon Power is relatively unique among electric utilities – it supplies small cities, big and small agricultural and mining operations, and some of the most remote indigenous communities in the world. It has been a genuine pioneer in delivering cheaper, cleaner power through a combination of renewables and energy storage. It’s also awake to the opportunities for solar and storage to empower the Aboriginal and Torres-Strait Islander communities it serves, explains Horizon’s Roanna Edwards.
Jul 13, 2020
Reducing the risk
Since founding Rekamniar Frontier Ventures in 2011, Angella Rainford has seen plenty of success as a PV project developer working in emerging markets. Originally from Jamaica, she has come to focus primarily on the Caribbean region. Last year, she started a new company, Soleco Energy, in the commercial PV segment, as well. pv magazine recently caught up with the London-based investor to discuss solar PV projects and the rapidly developing energy markets of the Caribbean.
Jul 13, 2020
The gigawatt club gets a new member
Vietnam’s solar market has seen a boom in recent years, placing it among the leading global markets in terms of demand for solar installations. Quan Nguyen, CEO and founder of PV installer and EPC provider Sao Nam Integrated Technology (SNTek), shares some insight on the comprehensive policy support that helped drive this rapidly developing market, and what we can expect for PV in Vietnam over the next few years.
Jul 13, 2020
In pursuit of universal energy access
Koen Peters has been the executive director of global offgrid solar association GOGLA since 2014. He has more than 20 years of international work experience, with more than 12 years in relation to energy access. He has gathered insights from many different perspectives and organizations, including government, consulting, startup businesses, and international finance organizations.
Jul 13, 2020
Expand and connect
Almost 60% of Nigeria’s population currently has access to electricity. But this breaks down to 78% in cities and urban areas, and just 39% in rural communities. The Rural Electrification Agency (REA), established by the government as part of electricity sector reforms in 2005, is tasked with bridging this gap and bringing reliable energy supply to the most remote parts of Nigeria. pv magazine spoke with REA CEO Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad about the organization’s strategy and recent progress, as well as the challenges that remain for rural electrification in Nigeria and the role of PV technology.
Jul 13, 2020
Expanding access: solar, water, and cooking
Jenean Smith is the senior director of International Programs at Grid Alternatives, a U.S.-based philanthropic organization that brings solar access to vulnerable homes and communities through local volunteers and job trainees doing installations. Smith started a non-profit called Power to the People with a locally staffed office in Nicaragua in 2008, before it was acquired by Grid Alternatives in 2014. Since then, the organization’s International Program has expanded its operations into Nepal in 2016 and Mexico in 2017.
Jul 13, 2020
Solar heads south
This year, pv magazine’s annual In Conversation special turns its focus to the Global South. We have gathered a series of interviews from regions the world over that illustrate how solar is making positive contributions across the Global South, from bringing cheap, reliable power to energy-poor communities, to powering the development of emerging economic giants.
Jul 13, 2020
Universal energy access just got harder
This year marks a uniquely critical juncture on the road to universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy. The massive disruption caused by Covid-19 complicates the outlook to 2030, which is the target date for reaching UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, writes Rohit Khanna, manager of the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program.
Jul 13, 2020
Three factors for success in the Irish solar market
Recent years have seen an explosion of installed PV capacity across the European Union, fueled by the well-documented rapid reduction in technology costs and favorable subsidy regimes in many jurisdictions. However, one corner of Northern Europe remains relatively untouched by the solar revolution, writes Adam Sharpe of Everoze. The Republic of Ireland currently has the second-lowest amount of installed PV capacity in the European Union, at just 36 MW by the end of 2019.
Jul 13, 2020
Terawatt scale by 2022
The solar sector is no stranger to breaking records. Perhaps the most impressive figure to emerge from SolarPower Europe’s new ‘Global Market Outlook’ is that the global solar sector will reach terawatt scale by 2022 – just four years after the 500 GW milestone was reached. Michael Schmela from SolarPower Europe sets out the reasoning behind this and other key findings in the report.
Jul 13, 2020
As countries reopen, market recovery begins
As the Covid-19 pandemic gradually eases, countries around the world have slowly begun to relax lockdown measures. Some countries have also launched varying types of economic stimulus to support the solar sector. In contrast to others, the Chinese market is stable, as the country has had some success in controlling the virus.
Jul 13, 2020
Emerging markets and innovation: Twin pillars of the solar tracker market
Global solar tracker shipments reached new record levels in 2019, exceeding 31 GW, up 55% year on year. Exceptional demand in the United States – as well as multiple gigawatt markets in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Australia – helped propel the market to new heights, writes Cormac Gilligan, associate director at IHS Markit.
Jul 13, 2020
A new boom, or the same old?
The Covid-19 crisis has left the solar market relatively unscathed, and in Germany, at least, it looks as if the final hurdles holding back an urgently needed PV boom have been cleared. In the evening hours of June 18, the uncertainty finally lifted, as the German parliament decided to eliminate the 52 GW cap on solar PV. Although the corresponding decision in the second chamber of Germany’s legislature, the Bundesrat, was still pending at press time, this is usually a formality. Still, the industry has reacted cautiously to the good news.
Jul 13, 2020
A solar south
The solar story of the past decade has been defined by fast-falling costs – a remarkable achievement of which the industry can be rightly proud – as highlighted by the World Bank in a recent energy access update (pp. 22-24). However, a narrative that PV benefits the few at the expense of the many has been a difficult one to shake.
Jul 13, 2020
Solar vs. salty drinking water
A solar array – complete with battery storage and remote monitoring and control capabilities – has been transforming brackish groundwater into fresh drinking water in the village of Beyo Gulan in the Somaliland desert since 2018. The installation was developed by Germany’s Phaesun. Its unique combination of low-maintenance electrodialysis desalination with PV saw it pick up an Outstanding Projects award from The smarter E. Phaesun’s Géraldine Quelle and Florian Martini say they are honored by the plaudits, and are readying the system for series production.
Jul 13, 2020
