And the winner is… – 01-2023
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Steering Saudi toward EVs
Saudi Arabia’s plan to put 700,000 electric vehicles (EVs) on Riyadh’s roads by 2030 will require an estimated 30,000 to 34,000 new charging stations – far more than the 100 currently planned. The kingdom’s Vision 2030 push will also need government incentive support and domestic auto manufacturing sites, according to Apricum’s Elizabeth Oliphant and Alex Metz.
Jan 10, 2023
‘Show me the money’
While national representatives at the COP27 climate summit tinkered with the details of measures to combat rising carbon emissions, the elephant in the room remained the yawning gap between the cash required to save humanity and the commitments made to finance that goal. Felicia Jackson recently went to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to assess whether it will be public money, private investors, or global brands that will step up to the plate.
Jan 10, 2023
Weak green-activity scores offer opportunity
The binary approach and rigor of the taxonomy of sustainable activities drawn up by the EU – which labels business as “green” or not – means companies and asset managers score quite low. The first round of reporting showed wide discrepancies between sectors, with real estate companies reporting an average 84.5% of revenue as potentially green against a score of only 4% for consumer staples. Is that down to the backward state of decarbonization or the Manichean nature of the rules? BloombergNEF’s Maia Godemer takes a look.
Jan 10, 2023
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Shining a light on supply chains
The drivers for PV supply-chain traceability could rub against a solar industry enjoying a true seller’s market, with demand outstripping supply. However, supply-chain auditing services are gaining support in increasingly regulated environments. pv magazine’s Tristan Rayner has spoken to a number of auditing experts about how they shine a light on often-opaque operations.
Jan 10, 2023
The pv magazine Award 2022
The prospects for solar and energy storage grew significantly in 2022, alongside renewable energy more broadly. It was a year of energy crises driven by conflict and much of the world was forced to recognize the risk of relying on far-flung regions for big chunks of their essential energy supplies. Such developments are driving a huge expansion in the production of renewable energy products and are generating stiff competition for technology leadership.
Jan 10, 2023
From diesel to DC
For a long while, it looked as if hydrogen fuel cells would be the technology of choice for emissions-free road transport. However, truck manufacturers and freight forwarders recently turned their attention to battery-electric vehicles. This will require special charging technology and PV looks set to play an important role.
Jan 10, 2023
Ready for takeoff
Airport PV can provide an instant boost to emission-reduction efforts while work continues on sustainable aviation fuels. Developing solar projects at or near airports, however, is not as straightforward as typical ground-mount installations, as Airsight’s Christoph Struempfel explains.
Jan 10, 2023
Small change, big effect
Starting this year, ground-mounted solar modules in Germany can be replaced before the end of their service life, unlocking gigawatt-scale potential for new generation capacity without lengthy permitting processes or the need for new sites. Opinions differ as to what should happen with the decommissioned but still functioning modules, as pv magazine Deutschland’s Sandra Enkhardt reports.
Jan 10, 2023
Hope springs renewable
Russia is destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, raising questions about how to ensure the safety and function of the country’s energy industry, particularly its nuclear power plants. What role can renewable energy play in such extreme circumstances? Vitaly Daviy, chief executive of clean-power trade show organizer IB Centre, shares his thoughts.
Jan 10, 2023
Imminent comeback, imminent trouble
Once a European leader in PV deployment, the solar market in Czechia has slumbered for the last decade. Now, with growing public support and financing in place, momentum is building and a gigawatt-scale pipeline is taking shape. However, fresh challenges loom, as Marija Maisch reports.
Jan 10, 2023
More than middling progress
There have been encouraging advances over the last 12 months in solar efficiency, floating PV, and agrivoltaics across the Middle East, with progress on green hydrogen ambitions, reports Zulfa Rasheed, and Hinde Liepmannsohn from the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA).
Jan 10, 2023
Connecting continents
New grid-linking plans in the European Union and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as the war in Ukraine, have placed discussions about electricity interconnectors at the center of the energy debate. Ilias Tsagas examines the projects that are making concrete steps and the factors that determine their success.
Jan 10, 2023
From 300 GW to 3,000 GW per year – a utopia?
The photovoltaic industry is expected to achieve annual global expansion of 300 GW as early as this year. That sounds like a lot, but is it enough? In view of climate change and rising energy demand, it is time for a new vision, as pv magazine publisher Eckhart K. Gouras reports.
Jan 10, 2023
Duty bound: US solar navigates choppy tariff waters
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) expects US solar additions to hit 15.7 GW in 2022, down 33% from 2021. Policy-driven supply constraints are the primary reason for the decline, as developers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are struggling to navigate a raft of trade actions, including anti-dumping duties and measures to eliminate forced labor. Dan Shreve, vice president of market intelligence for Clean Energy Associates (CEA), reports.
Jan 10, 2023
Less is more: The road to low-carbon solar
Polysilicon prices finally began to fall again at the end of 2022, following a period in which solar manufacturers made efforts to reduce silicon consumption in wafer production. With polysilicon accounting for around half of the carbon footprint of a typical solar panel – albeit with wide variation – further silicon reductions could offer a compelling route to low-carbon production, reports InfoLink Consulting chief analyst Corrine Lin.
Jan 10, 2023
Tenders key for MEA growth
Solar installations in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) are expected to reach more than 260 GWdc of cumulative capacity in the 2022-30 period, driven by government utility-scale tenders, green hydrogen projects, and an increasing shift toward distributed generation (DG) and privately funded projects. S&P Global expects Saudi Arabia to lead in the deployment of new PV capacity in the region, alongside the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Israel, and Morocco.
Jan 10, 2023
A new year in PV
It looked as though 2022 might end on a quiet note, as supply chains and component prices stabilize, but December painted a very different picture. In PV modules, at least, there has been a lot of movement, says Martin Schachinger, of pvXchange. In some cases, discounts on individual products have been very significant – up to 9% in November 2022. Prices for new, grade-A solar modules have dropped nearly to the level they were a year ago. Is this the beginning of a long-term trend?
Jan 10, 2023
Controversial California
In December, the Invesco Solar ETF, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the MAC Global Solar Energy Index, underperformed relative to the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Jesse Pichel, of ROTH Capital Partners attributes this to a possible US interest rate hike and California’s moves to pull the plug on rooftop solar.
Jan 10, 2023
Awakening of the solar age
As 2022 drew to a close, trade body SolarPower Europe (SPE) released its “EU Market Outlook for Solar Power 2022-2026” report. Forecasting year-on-year expansion of 47%, SPE found that 41.4 GW of PV were installed last year. The association expects the 50 GW annual installation milestone to be surpassed this year, swelling to 85 GW […]
Jan 10, 2023
