Weathering the storm in 2022 – 12-2022
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Poland and the price cap
While it was energy auctions in 2016 that kick-started Poland’s solar sector, many developers have since moved outside the support scheme thanks to rising energy prices. Piotr Mrowiec, associate partner at Rödl & Partner, examines how the EU’s new cap on renewable energy revenue will affect the attractiveness of large scale clean energy projects in the country.
Dec 08, 2022
The fight for energy justice
Renewable energy in the form of community and rooftop solar can bring relief to people who are disproportionately affected by climate change, pollution, and rising energy prices. Many groups are working hard to open up access to solar and the recently passed US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has a plan, backed by generous funding, reports pv magazine USA senior editor Anne Fischer.
Dec 08, 2022
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Certify and verify for sustainability
Environmental credentials are becoming important for PV modules, putting the spotlight on the ways in which sustainability claims can be verified, qualified and trusted. Solar can’t continue to rely on zero emissions during generation as its only green tick, but the certification and labeling of PV modules is improving, as is the outlook for higher standards, reports Tristan Rayner.
Dec 08, 2022
Plating up
A reduction of silver consumption in PV production is required on the way to terawatt scale. Given this, the time may have come for the commercialization of new copper plating technologies – doing away with the need for silver in cell metallization altogether. However, the history of plating technology is littered with cautionary tales.
Dec 08, 2022
Indian ambition
PV manufacturing is expanding rapidly in India. The country will remain one of the world’s largest PV markets in the coming years, and it is keen to free itself from dependence on imported solar goods. But rapid scale-up, featuring new players and technologies, comes with risks and challenges that need to be carefully managed.
Dec 08, 2022
Longi goes its own way
It is increasingly clear that the dominance of PERC solar is waning. For better performance and higher efficiency, Chinese manufacturers are turning to TOPCon, HJT and IBC products as next-generation solar cells vie for mainstream dominance. Vincent Shaw reports from Shanghai.
Dec 08, 2022
Automate, foldout for a solar future
While the efficiency of solar cells will always be important, scaling innovation in sustainable cell technology and solar deployment, is the new game in town. With hydrogen exports and production of green metals in its sights, Australia has some breakthrough tech coming down the pike, as pv magazine Australia’s Natalie Filatoff reports.
Dec 08, 2022
Sowing the seeds of agrivoltaics
Solar will play a pivotal role in Israel’s decarbonization but land scarcity is holding back its rollout. However, the high-tech nation has big plans for agrivoltaics and pv magazine sat down with Yael Harman, head of R&D in the chief scientist’s office at Israel’s Ministry of Energy, to discuss 150 MW of farm-based projects that should serve as the country’s blueprint.
Dec 08, 2022
Back to the future: Israel’s faith in FITs
Israel’s scarce land resources and lack of interconnections to neighboring countries have driven the rise of rooftop solar. Now a number of recent policy changes, mainly due to electricity reforms, are set to reinforce the decentralization trend, reports Ilias Tsagas.
Dec 08, 2022
Proofing to avoid PV pandemonium
With each new module generation, we see more energy generated at lower costs. This trend looks set to accelerate with the development of high-efficiency cells such as TOPCon products. Module performance characteristics, provided by manufacturers in “PAN files,” are improving and it seems that this is only the beginning. While everyone wants to hear that their project is going to perform brilliantly, developers should take a balanced approach to manufacturers’ claims and cross check against sound data to make sure that “Peter-Pan” files do not turn projects into PV pandemonium.
Dec 08, 2022
Puerto Rican resilience
Before Puerto Rico had a chance to recover from Hurricane Maria, in 2017, it was rocked by earthquakes and then, in September 2022, the island was struck again – this time by Hurricane Fiona. These disasters severely impacted Puerto Rico’s infamously fragile power grid, but have emboldened local communities to take power into their own hands through solar and battery storage, and increasingly in the form of microgrids. Compelled by catastrophic circumstances, Puerto Rico must now push toward energy resilience and in the process may see itself become a model not just for other islands, but mainland grids as well.
Dec 08, 2022
Solar aid in dark times
With Russia intent on destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, a network of NGOs is taking up the challenge to donate small and mobile energy supply solutions. Astrid Schneider, a member of clean energy nonprofit Eurosolar, shares the story of the small solar kits that are making a big difference.
Dec 08, 2022
Energy on the front line
Russia’s ongoing assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with missile and drone strikes, has seen the country’s power cut by nearly one-third, triggering widespread outages across the nation. With winter coming, the Ukrainian authorities haven’t ruled out a worst-case scenario that would see much of Kyiv, with its population of almost 3 million, evacuated from the city, reports Ian Skarytovsky.
Dec 08, 2022
EU set to raise the roof
The European Commission has proposed ambitious plans to rapidly introduce a solar rooftop mandate. However, with member states expected to introduce exemptions and house-price-linked dissent in the parliamentary chamber, the PV industry is waiting on the final shape of the directive, as SolarPower Europe CEO Walburga Hemetsberger explains.
Dec 08, 2022
Weather-proofing wisdom
Going above and beyond can drive up costs when it comes to solar project features such as racking height and module glass strength. But in an ever-warming world, it could take only one extreme weather event to destroy investments. Clean Energy Associates VP for technology Paul Wormser offers a few tips for developers.
Dec 08, 2022
Soaring polysilicon prices drive investment
Polysilicon prices have soared since hitting a low point in 2019, as supply has not kept up with demand. This rise has brought significant investment in the sector and those funds could lead to oversupply in the long term. InfoLink senior analyst Dora Zhao examines the global landscape for polysilicon supplies.
Dec 08, 2022
Inverter makers go global
A combination of booming demand, supply chain bottlenecks, and energetic moves by politicians to bring manufacturing “back home” is persuading solar inverter manufacturers to set up fabs in whole new global zip codes, as IHS Markit’s Shaunagh Moodie and Siqi He report.
Dec 08, 2022
A penny saved is a panel spurned
Module prices have finally stabilized, and a slight downward trend has even started to set in. Whether this will continue depends mainly on how demand shapes up over the next few months. The softening of prices reflects a gradual build-up of inventories, which should be drawn down again by the end of the year, if possible – even if it means slashing prices. But for other PV system components, the situation is quite different, writes Martin Schachinger of pvXchange.
Dec 08, 2022
Confidence boost
The Invesco Solar ETF, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the MAC Global Solar Energy Index, outperformed the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average in November. Roth Capital’s Jesse Pichel attributes this to strong earnings and confidence due to the US Inflation Reduction Act.
Dec 08, 2022
