A redrawn energy landscape – 05-2022
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Excerpt from the magazine
In for the long haul
Italian module materials manufacturer Coveme has weathered many a solar storm since the 1980s, when it commercialized its first backsheet. The president and founder of the company, Pier Luigi Miciano, shares some of the lessons learned, how the company embraces sustainability, the importance of re-establishing a European solar value chain, and what’s in store for the future.
May 09, 2022
Traffic lights for sustainable finance
The European Union developed its sustainable finance taxonomy to provide investors, companies and policymakers with a classification system for green economic activities. Its goal is to scale up the flow of investment into initiatives that will substantially help the bloc to reach climate neutrality by 2050, reports Beatriz Santos.
May 09, 2022
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Incentives drive adoption
With the emerging energy justice agenda, US policymakers could use incentives to help low- to moderate-income households adopt solar, according to a recent Lawrence Berkeley National Lab report. The report identifies which subsidies are working, which programs had sustained impacts over the years, and the spillover effect that happens when low- to moderate-income households adopt solar without incentives.
May 06, 2022
Polish PV feels impact of war in Ukraine
It appeared that 2022 would be another impressive year for PV investment in Poland. However, Russian aggression in Ukraine has been a game-changer. Unprecedented price increases, uncertainty in financial markets regarding investment in a “frontline” country, and more serious material and labor availability issues than during the pandemic have conspired to darken the mood. Piotr Mrowiec of Rödl & Partner examines the tools available to investors and contractors developing PV projects in Poland, to ensure that they do not suffer losses on their investments.
May 06, 2022
Diversity, demand blooms, supply crunch looms
A review of the German distributed battery energy storage market reveals healthy demand, a growing portfolio of products, and the ability to readily couple devices within homes and businesses. Cornelia Lichener, from pv magazine Germany, has compiled the “2022 Storage for Home and Small Business” market overview. Consumer demand is high, but component bottlenecks are constraining supply, she reports in the first part of her analysis.
May 06, 2022
‘Throughput has always been the key factor’
The increasing size and sophistication of PV cell and module manufacturing places big requirements on providers of inline flash testing equipment, from ever-expanding throughput expectations to the ability to measure a growing range of solar cell characteristics. pv magazine recently spoke with Stefan Dauwe, director products and projects at German flashing equipment supplier halm, for an update on the state of the art in inline testing.
May 06, 2022
Flexibility on the line
With an uptick in interest from the building materials industry, manufacturers are preparing to meet demand for new products in the building-integrated PV segment. And with expectations for products to fit a range of sizes, shapes and even colors, production lines will need to be highly flexible in meeting the demands of architects and building owners. pv magazine spoke with several solar equipment suppliers to see how they are adapting tools and processes to serve a growing market.
May 06, 2022
Light soaking promises gains for HJT
A number of recent studies have shown the potential of a light soaking stage to improve multiple cell characteristics in heterojunction cells, and provide a significant boost in efficiency and stability. Understanding the longer-term effects on cell structure will be key to developing a cost-effective, industrially applicable process.
May 06, 2022
Making tandem cells stack up
Perovskite tandem technology is shaping as the route to PV cell efficiencies well beyond 27%. But building the tandem stack in a way that can be scaled into gigawatt production is not a trivial challenge, says Sebastian Gatz, VP photovoltaics for German equipment supplier Von Ardenne.
May 06, 2022
Survival of the fittest
Fronius International is an established EU solar manufacturer. The Austrian PV inverter maker has not only remained profitable over the years, but is also a leading sustainability champion – recognized in the 2021 pv magazine Awards when it was named the Publisher’s Pick. As part of the UP Initiative’s focus on EU manufacturing, the Fronius team talks survival strategies and the importance of adopting green production practices.
May 06, 2022
The next bottleneck
Europe needs to build a solar industry across the entire value chain, including glass, argues Erich Merkle, the CEO of GridParity and a member of the Solar Glass Alliance. When people talk about the PV value chain, they often forget solar glass, which is the heaviest component, accounting for up to 80% of the weight of a standard PV module.
May 06, 2022
Sustainable security with EU manufacturing
The role of sustainability in plans for European PV production is not merely significant – it’s existential. The raison d’être of a reborn manufacturing sector will rest on demand for products at a premium price point, given the pressures of environmental, social and governance standards on the global solar value chain. The industry must offer higher efficiency at a lower carbon footprint, while reducing reliance on foreign markets to provide regional security, reports pv magazine’s Blake Matich.
May 06, 2022
The great EU solar manufacturing reset
“We need to bring manufacturing back to Europe and the [European] Commission is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen,” EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said at the opening of SolarPower Summit 2022. Her words rocketed around the solar community, boosting share prices and invigorating the European solar industrial mission, writes SolarPower Europe CEO Walburga Hemetsberger, as she lays out the actions needed for solar-power EU energy independence.
May 06, 2022
Staying grounded
In the world of utility-scale solar development, with razor-thin margins to make multimillion-dollar assets financially viable, companies aggressively pursue innovations that reduce materials, cut labor costs, increase efficiency, or otherwise lead to higher yields. Cable management systems might not drum up the same excitement as new modules or trackers, but for the folks at CAB Solar, the 2021 pv magazine Award winner in the BOS category, the name of the game is proficiency, not publicity.
May 06, 2022
Blocking the big winds
Several manufacturers now offer trackers fitted with blocking mechanisms to increase wind resistance and make trackers behave more like fixed structures. Some companies even retrofit such mechanisms to existing tracker projects. pv magazine Spain’s Pilar Sanchez Molina investigates the efficacy of blocking mechanisms and other strategies to deal with high wind loads.
May 06, 2022
The dawn of deep green solar
The importance of biodiversity on solar farms is coming into sharper focus, due to the intersecting forces of sustainable finance and the UK Environment Act. These positive influences will likely change the way the industry and the public view solar farms, as they evolve into biodiversity hotspots that lead the recovery of nature. Everoze Partner Ellie van der Heijden discusses how boosting biodiversity can be an opportunity for solar developers and investors to increase their positive impact.
May 06, 2022
Home is where the decarbonization is
Rising home electricity consumption underscores the importance of making the most out of solar electrons, says Yogev Barak, chief marketing officer for SolarEdge Technologies. The SolarEdge Home smart energy management system seeks to push solar self-consumption rates up via the adoption of energy storage and the integration of smart devices.
May 06, 2022
Australia’s solar cliff looms
Some believe Australia has begun to tip over the “solar cliff,” reaching penetrations that are becoming disruptive to the balance of the grid and to the business models of solar companies themselves. Following notable exits from the market, alarm bells are ringing for solar companies to offer more than just solar installations, writes pv magazine’s Bella Peacock.
May 06, 2022
Keeping FPV afloat
In many parts of the world, project developers and owners are increasingly looking to floating PV as the next long-term growth market in utility-scale solar. Gian Schelling, global business development manager for Hitachi Energy, says that PV-on-water can rise above the current challenges it faces by drawing on the lessons learned from offshore wind development.
May 06, 2022
Canal-top solar solution
Climate change is exacerbating water scarcity in many parts of the world, and while renewable energy is a long-term solution, in many cases it is a short-term solution, too. One such case in the energy-water nexus is that of canal-top solar, which was pioneered in India a decade ago, when the first canal-top solar array was installed in Gujarat. And new findings from the University of California and the resulting Project Nexus are now shining attention on a symbiotic application: saving water, while generating solar energy, without occupying arable land.
May 06, 2022
Sky-scraping solar
As people have gradually migrated to the world’s cities, urban areas have migrated upward to scrape the sky. And yet, while one of the first principles of power generation is to generate as close as possible to the point of consumption, energy systems have long been designed to deliver electricity to major cities from distant hubs. But now, thanks to recent advances in solar panel energy density and building-integrated PV, vertical cities could soon be standing tall under their own power.
May 06, 2022
Fast-changing PPA landscape
Power purchase agreements are ideal risk-management tools, given that electricity price volatility is the new normal and renewables uptake is a matter of urgency due to untenable Russian gas dependency. pv magazine sat down with Andy Sommer, team leader of fundamental analysis and modeling at Swiss trader Axpo Solutions, to discuss the situation of prices and PPAs in Europe.
May 06, 2022
Ripple effects of Russia-Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has acted as a brutal wake-up call for governments to act and reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Many have pledged to hasten project timelines for renewables, but there are mixed reports about impacts on investor confidence and projects under development in Ukraine’s neighboring countries. Marija Maisch reports.
May 06, 2022
Collateral damage as conflict bites
Western sanctions imposed on the Russian economy have complicated shipments of PV equipment into the country from the European Union and elsewhere. This has prompted the Russian authorities and businesses to increase localization efforts. The long-term outlook is bright, but a short-term crunch is coming, writes Vladislav Vorotnikov.
May 06, 2022
Enormous potential
Portugal’s PV tenders have generated headlines on the back of world-record tariffs. But the country has failed to add meaningful capacity and is now struggling to establish a workable licensing system. Merchant solar shows enormous potential to drive the market, but will politicians listen?
May 06, 2022
‘Clear winds of change’
After a decade of under-delivering on its potential, there are changes afoot in Southeast Asia’s renewable energy development, says Assaad W. Razzouk, the CEO of Singapore-based developer Gurin Energy. Razzouk points to success stories in the region and notes that political will and clear regulations for developers are needed.
May 06, 2022
South Korea stands strong on solar aims
A measured, long-term clean energy transition strategy is reshaping South Korean society for the better. Although geographical limitations present a challenge, the Koreans are rising to the task of meeting ambitious goals with innovative PV plans, writes Q Cells’ manager of corporate communications, Ian Clover.
May 06, 2022
There’s scale, then there’s China
Against all odds, China’s gross domestic product grew by 8.1% in 2021, up 5.8% year on year. Electricity consumption grew by 10.3%, up 7.2%. Taking this into account, it’s no surprise that China’s PV industry also reached new heights. Frank Haugwitz, the founder of the Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory (AECEA), takes a closer look at what is still by far the world’s largest PV market.
May 06, 2022
Industry stands by forced labor crackdown
Despite a year of import woes, the US solar industry has made it clear that it supports the ban of goods from the Xinjiang region of China, which is responsible for 50% of the world’s polysilicon supply. pv magazine USA’s Ryan Kennedy reports that the challenges in clearing the new hurdles to importing PV modules are high, but he notes that the industry is working to overcome them.
May 06, 2022
No end to supply/demand imbalance
The solar supply chain problems that began last year with high prices and polysilicon shortages are persisting into 2022. But we are already seeing a stark difference from earlier predictions that prices would decline gradually each quarter this year. PV Infolink’s Alan Tu probes the solar market situation and offers insights.
May 06, 2022
Distributed gains
High module prices are expected to cause a shift in solar demand from the utility-scale segment to the distributed-generation PV space, while residential and commercial and industrial consumers are expected to be less price sensitive, writes IHS Markit analyst Siqi He. In 2022, distributed PV will account for more than 40% of global solar installations.
May 06, 2022
An ounce of prevention
The causes of performance issues and safety problems in PV plants are diverse, as Martin Schachinger of pvXchange and Falko Krause of GME clean power outlined earlier this year (see pv magazine 01/2022, p.11). For plant operators, it is not only important to keep an eye on yields, but also to identify changes in installed components quickly – especially those that can lead to serious safety and operator risks.
May 06, 2022
Shock and challenge
In the month of April, the Invesco Solar ETF underperformed relative to the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, registering a 14.5% decline. Jesse Pichel of ROTH Capital Partners says this is primarily due to the impacts of the latest anti-circumvention case in the United States.
May 06, 2022
Ray of light in fog of war
While the loss of life and ongoing peril facing Ukraine continues to shake Europe, the ways in which the conflict will reshape many aspects of life on the continent is beginning to become clear. Energy is a major part of that recalibration. The burning desire to both wean off Russian gas and starve the conflict has delivered considerable momentum, and challenges, to the adoption of renewable energy in the European Union and in neighboring states.
May 06, 2022
