Huawei Special Edition 2020
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Excerpt from the magazine
AI steps into maintenance
The Covid-19 pandemic quarantine has introduced a new set of challenges for solar PV operations and maintenance. The topic has gained industry attention now that PV sites lack onsite personnel. Huawei says its new Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis – integrating artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and PV – is a first-step solution toward unmanned O&M. With the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) ever decreasing, improvements in O&M efficiency and accompanying cost reductions may accelerate the arrival of the grid parity era.
Jun 25, 2020
Preventing fires with AI
Fires present significant potential risks to solar installations. They can destroy PV system components – such as modules, cables, and inverters – and also damage entire buildings. Inverter manufacturer Huawei says that arcs are the primary cause of serious fires in solar PV systems, as they account for more than 60% of all incidents involving rooftop PV systems. Manufacturers, developers, and governments alike have been implementing precautionary measures for years to prevent arcing and system fires – and now artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to emerge as another important safety solution.
Jun 25, 2020
Talking investment: From the lab to next-gen PV
Huawei says it invests more than 10% of its revenue in research and development each year, with this figure reaching around 15% in the last two years. Over the past decade, the company’s R&D investment totaled CNY 480 billion ($67 billion). Huawei has established 14 R&D centers and more than 60 basic technology laboratories worldwide, covering materials, heat dissipation, mathematics, and wireless technologies. Chen Guoguang, the new president of the Smart PV Business Unit, discusses what this means for the advancement of solar.
Jun 25, 2020
Sights on storage
The residential storage market doubled last year, driven by catastrophic outages that have included wild fires, hurricanes, and other problems in countries around the world. The booming global market for residential battery storage is being supported by new solutions that are linking rooftop PV assets to battery banks controlled by powerful new software platforms. Huawei is stepping into position to support the growing demand with a new suite of smart solar+storage solutions.
Jun 25, 2020
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‘PV is entering the AI era’
We are becoming a fully connected, more intelligent world – this is the mantra of Huawei. The telecoms giant is playing a leading role in integrating the cloud, AI, and 5G technologies to expand its portfolio with a comprehensive strategy that spans a wide range of its business units – and solar PV is no exception.
Jun 25, 2020
Three years of intelligent operations data
In 2016, Huaneng Hainan Power and Huawei jointly digitalized the Dongfang solar power plant in Hainan, China. As the first solar PV project to be digitalized, it is worth taking a look back to see how the new technology has actually bolstered performance.
Jun 25, 2020
Going off-grid
The global market for off-grid applications is enormous. Wood Mackenzie recorded roughly $2.1 billion in investment in offgrid energy markets from 2010 to 2019, and that was just based on what investors revealed. The analysts believe that with 420 million people now using standalone off-grid PV and an additional 47 million people depending on minigrids to obtain electricity, the decade ahead offers a huge opportunity. And Huawei is stepping in to support the microgrid market.
Jun 25, 2020
A dependable PPArtner for subsidy-free PV
The falling cost of PV has increasingly driven the adoption of solar technology in recent years. But for a long time, the solar industry was fully dependent on subsidies. German PV project developer BayWa r.e. made headlines in 2018 with its 175 MW Don Rodrigo plant just outside of Seville, in southern Spain. The company backed the array with a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA), marking the first time a project of that size had been refinanced in Europe without the help of subsidies. It later charted new territory again with the completion of Germany’s first subsidy-free PV project in 2019.
Jun 25, 2020
Europe’s emerging PV markets
For large-scale installations, Hungary and Greece are two of Europe’s emerging solar PV markets. The solar PV sector in the two countries kicked off years ago predominantly via feed-in tariff (FIT) remuneration policy schemes. In the case of Hungary, FITs created a PV market primarily for small systems up to 500 KW in size, while Greece’s FIT supported both small-scale installations and larger systems with multi-MW capacity. But today’s picture has changed significantly – creating both new opportunities and challenges.
Jun 25, 2020
Moving from grid- following to grid-supporting
Solar PV generation is one of the world’s most promising technologies for a sustainable energy future. However, as solar and other intermittent renewable energy sources increasingly enter the grid, the establishment of grid connections has become a challenge that could threaten future expansion. Now, solar PV technology is rapidly moving from a passive role to an active one, as it takes on a starring role to support electric utility power grids.
Jun 25, 2020
An eye on growing Asian markets
Over the past decade, the entire Asian continent has soared in its power generation capabilities, bolstered by rapid economic growth. As costs have continued to decline for solar photovoltaics – coupled with the technology’s ability to provide clean, emissions-free power – solar has become one of the most important energy sectors for many Southeast Asian nations. The rising deployment of solar PV has been significant – in some markets more than others.
Jun 25, 2020
Adding solar for a fully fueled story in the Middle East
Jad Jubaili’s business idea to build a solar division under his company, Jubaili Bros. – traditionally a trader of diesel generators – came to fruition in 2017. This year, Jubaili Bros. opened its first business branch that is 100% dedicated to solar in Pakistan. pv magazine met with Jubaili to discuss the fully fueled future of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) Region – megasolar and smaller PV projects alike, oil price slumps, Covid-19, and technological developments.
Jun 25, 2020
Navigating Europe’s policies, markets, and trends
Europe is widely considered a renewable energy powerhouse, at least with regards to technology establishment and kick-starting the green economy. Installation trends and markets are expanding – and Covid-19 could provide new opportunities for the continent.
Jun 25, 2020
The critical choice for Australian PV: inverter selection
Australia’s slow-to-adapt transmission network has been a major roadblock for renewables in the country, as it drives up costs and causes delays for large-scale projects. As developers, contractors, and investors try to wrap their heads around grid-stability issues, the risks associated with transmission losses and connection problems continue to weaken confidence in grid-scale renewable energy investment. FRV Australia Managing Director Carlo Frigerio discusses the market and the importance of choosing the right inverters for the country’s rigid power network.
Jun 25, 2020
Predicting the future for smart PV
Over the next five to 10 years, renewables will assume a larger role as a main power source for electric grids, and PV has a particularly bright future. Considering the latest trends in power electronics technology, PV is quickly evolving down the path to intelligence. Given the rapid development of emerging information and communication technologies (ICT) – such as AI, cloud computing, big data, and 5G – Huawei has an idea of what’s in store for the future of solar PV.
Jun 18, 2020
Huawei’s latest intelligence: Smart PV For Future
The new president of Huawei’s Smart PV Business Unit, Chen Guoguang, talks to pv magazine about his new role in the company and the future of his division. Increased investment in smart PV R&D and technological innovation are at the top of the agenda. The intelligentization of energy products is also a priority, with much to be gained from the integration of information and communications technologies (ICT) and energy.
Jun 18, 2020
Intelligently upgrading the PV industry
With lower costs, increasing renewable energy portfolio demands and carbon emission reductions, the solar industry has grown at a robust pace – providing many prospects to support a clean energy future. But the continuous development of solar PV also faces a number of challenges. How do we cut the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) when subsidies are decreasing? What should we do to tackle high O&M costs? How do we turn new clean energy into a primary energy source that is both safe and reliable? How do we ensure safe access to PV plants on a large scale? Technological innovation and intelligent transformation are key – and Huawei is leveraging its expertise in telecoms to step up the industry’s game.
Jun 18, 2020
Huawei: Leadership on various fronts
Photo: pv magazine/Thomas Beetz For the fifth consecutive year, the analysts at IHS Markit ranked Huawei the No. 1 supplier of photovoltaic inverters globally. The Chinese manufacturer and IT and telecommunications giant has held this top position since 2015. A number of factors account for Huawei’s success in the global PV industry. First, the company’s […]
Jun 18, 2020
