Author
Jochen Siemer
Jochen joined pv magazine in 2023. He began working as a freelance journalist in 1988. A few years later, he found himself focusing on renewable energies. Since 2021, he has dealt exclusively with photovoltaics in all its aspects – from scientific studies on the development of the global market to the product presentation of a new roof hook.
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Articles written by Jochen Siemer
Green hydrogen’s growing share in chemical production
The chemical industry requires enormous amounts of hydrogen for a wide range of products and processes. In the final part of pv magazine’s Renewables 24/7 series, we head to the world’s largest chemical plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, BASF and Siemens Energy are demonstrating how to integrate a green electricity-powered electrolyzer into a massive industrial complex.
Sep 19, 2026
Taking system responsibility
A consortium in Germany is testing the use of grid-forming inverters to connect large-scale battery storage systems at the distribution grid level. Such systems can and must provide this capability at scale if renewables are to become the backbone of any region’s energy system. As part of pv magazine’s Renewables 24/7 special, Jochen Siemer takes a closer look at this project.
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‘A modern economy runs on electricity’
Renewable energy, 24/7. Many still associate this with terms like “mammoth task,” “challenge,” and “radical change.” While these are not entirely inaccurate in describing the energy transition, they obscure the essential point that renewable energy actually presents a huge economic opportunity. As part of our Renewables 24/7 series, pv magazine spoke with German energy expert Tim Meyer about the many opportunities wrapped up in the energy transition, and why deployment of renewables at scale is now a necessary condition for the success of any advanced economy.
Why agrivoltaics have yet to take off in Switzerland
Agrivoltaics account for virtually none of Switzerland’s installed solar capacity, despite having the potential to generate far more electricity than the country currently consumes. A new ZHAW report identifies legal and administrative hurdles as key barriers and calls for regulatory reform, greater investment certainty, and lessons from neighboring markets.
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QBE survey finds DC cabling and plug connections are most common causes of PV fires
A survey by global industrial insurer QBE in Great Britain found that the number of fires is rising nearly twice as fast as the number of new photovoltaic installations. After DC cabling and connectors, the most common causes are solar modules, battery storage systems, and inverters.
Mounting system for photovoltaic installations on gabions
Wi Solar, Karl Ditandy, and Diconal have developed a mounting system that enables PV module installation on irregular gabion structures. The solution adapts standard mounting technology to variable gabion geometries and could be used for applications including noise barriers, retaining walls, and slope stabilization.
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