North America

Inverter manufacturers tapped into the major theme of digitization in their product presentations at this year’s Smarter E event in Munich – of which Intersolar Europe is a part of. The solutions deploy smart software solutions for maximizing self-consumption, O&M provision and enable hybrid architectures across all three market segments.

Solar rebates granted through the scheme are expected to cover around 30% of the costs of a residential PV project.

The upstream technology company plans to sell silicon carbide for applications including advanced inverters for solar and battery storage, as part of a new emphasis on materials supply.

U.S.-based tracker supplier Array Technologies took part in the panel discussion on bifacial technology at the Future PV Roundtable during Intersolar Europe last week. pv magazine caught up with panelist Caesar Alberte, VP International, to discuss the company’s new CEO and its work on bifacial tracking.

The decision was taken by the incoming Ontario premier, Doug Ford. The US$70 million scheme had been conceived to support residential and commercial solar-plus-storage solutions installed under net metering.

Perovskites, a tempting low-cost alternative to crystalline silicon based solar cells, could be moving closer to commercial production thanks to a new way of applying the critical electron transport layer (ETL) pioneered by an international team of researchers.

The predicted fall in global PV module prices appears to have already begun, with PVInsights and EnergyTrend reporting average prices in the $0.27-$0.37/W range.

At the smarter E-Intersolar Europe trade show this week, awards have been given to the technologies driving the energy transition to a low carbon future. Prizes include the Intersolar Award, recognizing PV technology; the EES prize for storage innovation; and the smarter E awards – one of which was given to an off-grid agricultural project in Australia.

Developer has posted positive financial results for the second quarter running, following the company’s restructuring. Though its discontinued module manufacturing operations are not included in financial results for the first quarter, the company more than tripled net income on the previous three-month period.

While tariffs may inhibit India’s ability to benefit from anticipated record low Chinese panel prices, Japan already has a strong pipeline and two of the world’s solar pioneers – Spain and Italy – could be given a shot in the arm by new administrations.