Features

Laura E. Stern, president of New Jersey-based Nautilus Solar Energy, speaks with pv magazine about one of the most momentous international climate protection achievements in history: The recent agreement between the United States and China to reduce carbon dioxide emission levels.

The Alpine country’s unusual solar PV remuneration system obliges households and other small power producers to trade energy on the market while allowing bigger investors piece of mind through the FIT scheme. The usual practice in Europe and elsewhere is the other way round.

While government cuts slashed the internal rate of return for Greek PV plants, they still remain significantly higher than in other European countries and offer foreign investors a potentially attractive investment as Greece’s economy slowly recovers.

Interview: Goetz Fischbeck, CEO of Smart Solar Consulting, sees the recently announced acquisition of insolvent SAG Solarstrom AG by Shunfeng Photovoltaics as a win-win for both parties. Shunfeng in particular benefits from the German PV company’s expertise in project planning and implementation, while SAG Solarstrom’s creditors can expect a high insolvency dividend and the staff can look forward to retaining their jobs.

Interview: Rafael Benjumea, CEO of Spanish developer FRV, warns that implementation of Australia’s RET Review recommendations will discourage investment in the country’s solar industry.

pv magazine examines Latin America’s growing solar industries in a broad-ranging look at the region in the upcoming September issue. With Intersolar South America kicking off on Tuesday, we offer here a timely excerpt.

John Perlin explores the history of solar energy in his latest book, “Let it Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy.” pv magazine caught up with the author for an interview in the August issue. Here’s an excerpt.

Hot topics at the event included the pressing need for adequate energy storage on islands as well as the compelling case for photovoltaics.

Speaking at the recent IRENA conference, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the accelerated deployment of renewable energy sources could play a pivotal role in overcoming the country’s current economic troubles.

In their Nature paper, researchers from Imec and a number of U.S. universities discuss the importance of having crystals larger than 4 nm in the fullerene material of organic solar cells as a way to obtain cells with a maximal efficiency. From their research, engineers learn how to set the deposition parameters of fullerene, but also what they should look for when they select alternatives for fullerene.