Top 10 PV trends that defined 2020 – 12-2020
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Excerpt from the magazine
Performance guaranteed
Guarantees and warranties may be thought to deliver peace of mind, but when underperformance on rooftop systems is detected, diagnosing and demonstrating failures is no simple task. pv magazine’s Virtual Insight on Quality event in November tackled this issue from all angles – and what it means for Australia’s burgeoning rooftop segment.
Dec 07, 2020
New EU financing mechanism set to boost PV investments
A new EU framework designed to incentivize cross-border renewables financing could help accelerate the roll-out of solar PV projects across Europe. However, investors are awaiting more clarity about how the system will work in practice.
Dec 07, 2020
Disrupting developments
The current developer-EPC model has increasingly turned to focus on quality over a two-year horizon. This contrasts with long-term owners who are focused on quality over the lifetime of their projects (20 to 40 years). With long-term owners now buying projects in the pre-construction phase, the current model looks set for disruption. Olivier Crepon, managing director at Skyray Engineering, reviews the emerging model of project development and explains how it will impact developers, EPCs, and third-party services and ultimately lead to a stronger, more mature PV sector.
Dec 07, 2020
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A unique position
Solar PV could disrupt the fossil fuel industry and help with two of the biggest sustainability challenges of our times: biodiversity loss and food production. In Q1 2021, pv magazine’s UP initiative will shine a spotlight on agrivoltaics – the combination of agriculture and solar energy – in recognition of this emerging market. The goal is to understand the potential benefits, and economic, political and technical challenges of such an innovative partnership.
Dec 07, 2020
Aware but unprepared
The solar industry cannot claim to be a clean energy source if it leaves a trail of hazardous waste. But, in the absence of a cogent PV recycling policy, the United States risks sending millions of solar modules and tons of toxics to landfill in the coming years. A new initiative by Recycle PV Solar seeks to address this problem.
Dec 07, 2020
‘Circular economy is the most pressing challenge’
This year has been extraordinary for businesses. The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken global markets, forcing many companies to rethink their daily operations. Despite these challenging times, it is crucial to keep environmental goals in focus – indeed, it can be argued they are more pertinent than ever. CEO Jürgen Reinert recently spoke to pv magazine about the progress inverter manufacturer SMA, a partner of the UP initiative, has made reducing its carbon footprint and use of toxic substances. It is also focusing on circular economy principles, despite the tough times.
Dec 07, 2020
Sustainable PV goes beyond recycling
Despite significant progress on material and energy efficiency in solar PV manufacturing over the last few decades, terawatt-scale manufacturing mandates further innovation and improvement along all parts of the value chain – especially on material circularity and supply chain decarbonization, according to Andreas Wade, global sustainability director at First Solar. Ensuring these objectives are met will be key to adhering to the global carbon budget for 1.5 C.
Dec 07, 2020
A north star for solar merchants
The solar industry is quite diversified in technologies and market approaches at this stage. Of course, each country is unique and has its own challenges, often demanding bespoke solutions. However, a few strategies might be more likely to work, especially where there is already plenty of renewable energy deployed. To navigate the sea of market opportunities, policymakers and stakeholders should look north.
Dec 07, 2020
Rotary printing rocks!
Cell metallization is getting a makeover. Some ‘rocking’ research projects spearheaded by Fraunhofer ISE are now set to introduce new printing methods that could deliver more than a doubling of throughput. There are hurdles to overcome across various process steps and on a materials basis, but initial results appear encouraging.
Dec 07, 2020
‘I think the market is ready for the next step’
As part of a billion-euro acquisition deal with Germany’s Covestro, DSM will soon move away from the solar glass coatings market. For the materials giant’s Advanced Solar business, this means a renewed focus on the backsheet market. Here it sees growing demand for back-contact technologies and the conductive backsheets that go with them and has recently launched an updated version of its Endurance polymer backsheet. pv magazine recently caught up with Pascal de Sain, VP at DSM Advanced Solar, for an update.
Dec 07, 2020
Big, and then bigger
Throughout this year, a fast-moving story has played out in PV module technology, with the introduction of larger wafers and subsequently larger module formats seeing the industry break into two camps, backing either 182 mm or 210 mm wafers. It remains to be seen whether one or the other will become a new industry standard, and both sizes will likely be plentiful on the market for the next few years at least. pv magazine takes a look at how we got to this point.
Dec 07, 2020
Maverick not only by name
A small number of utility-scale PV arrays of an entirely different nature are taking shape Down Under. Over the past six years, Aussie solar startup 5B has been developing and deploying its pre-assembled and relocatable Maverick mounting structures “on a shoestring budget.” But with a major solar developer having joined as a strategic investor, the company is now looking to make prefabricated arrays a mainstream option for utility-scale PV.
Dec 07, 2020
Solar mining is on the move
Mining companies the world over are looking to electrify their operations with solar, but many obstacles have been holding back uptake. Perhaps the most obvious has been the disconnect between the longevity of solar assets and the short-term outlooks of many mining companies. However, recent developments have shown that solar is more flexible than a gymnast and just as mobile.
Dec 07, 2020
Hail happens
The U.S. solar industry is looking to quality and innovation for solutions to extreme weather risks. As PV projects spread across hail-prone areas in the United States, the industry faces increased risks and a critical need for damage prevention and mitigation strategies that leverage robust materials, panel testing, and software.
Dec 07, 2020
PV trends of 2020
Despite much of the world being on lockdown for a big chunk of 2020, there are few who could say it has been an uneventful year. And while the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic will be what defines 2020 for many, in the solar industry there’s plenty more to shout about, from the rapid rollout of high-powered modules to a drastic increase in carbon-neutral pledges from companies and governments around the world. Here, we take a look back at the year in solar.
Dec 07, 2020
Resiliency in the face of Covid-19
While some parts of the global economy have been decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic, others have prospered. Solar PV has fared better than most, yet the resilience it has shown varies significantly between markets. pv magazine publisher Eckhart K. Gouras casts an analytical eye across a number of key markets to assess what is informing the trends.
Dec 07, 2020
Solar set to shine in a post-pandemic world
The world is still combating Covid-19, with Europe now impacted by a second wave of the virus. While the market reported delays for a few projects, the impacts on the PV sector remain unclear. But if the world fails to curb the Covid-19’s spread, governments may be forced to reintroduce strict measures, thereby sapping PV demand. PV InfoLink’s Mars Chang expects module demand to hit 126 GW by the end of this year.
Dec 07, 2020
Acquisition activity in Europe remains heated
The European solar market saw around 11 GW of projects, and pipelines change hands in 2019. The positive trend is expected to last, as investors remain optimistic about the future of the industry. Project acquisition activity is seen as a key indicator of financial health in many sectors, including the PV market. It reflects optimism among investors and points to a particularly high degree of liquidity, writes IHS Markit analyst Martina Assereto.
Dec 07, 2020
2020 was off to a good start, and then…
This year’s retrospective kicks off with a line that sounds like it’s right out of a pop song: Last spring, it all felt so right. And yet, what followed was not only one of the hottest years on record, but also one of the craziest in recent decades. This month and next, Martin Schachinger of pvXchange looks back at how European PV markets have developed under the pall of the pandemic and climate change.
Dec 07, 2020
The Biden effect
Solar stocks continued to outperform the broader market in November, writes Jesse Pichel of ROTH Capital Partners. Tailwinds from the election results drove positive sentiment in the United States, while the end of the exemption from Section 201 tariffs for bifacial products could be bad news for module imports.
Dec 07, 2020
Bruised, battered, but better
It could not have been expected, but 2020 has been a year quite unlike any other in recent history. And as we round it out with constraints still impacting many aspects of our lives, there are a considerable number of reasons to end the year feeling optimistic. First, to start the way most conversations this […]
Dec 07, 2020
