solar industry

Native American lands boast serious PV potential in the United States but getting projects off the ground hasn‘t always been easy. Different tribes are willing to take power generation into their own hands and the landscape could be shifting, thanks to funding from the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other programs.

Tripling clean energy generation capacity to 11 TW by 2030 was a leading pledge from the United Nations’ (UN) climate change conference in Dubai. With few details about infrastructure and energy storage and no clear PV targets, however, it is hard to judge the effectiveness of the 28th global Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting. Angela Skujins considers possible impacts for the solar industry.

With United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appearing to have decided green policy, or rather, anti-green policy should be used to rally voters to his party’s bid for re-election this year – and with the opposition Labour party vacillating over a promise to spend £28 billion ($35 billion) per year on green investment – Adam Swarbrick, of RWE Renewables UK, gives an update on the prospects for United Kingdom solar.

Diesel generators have been the workhorse of disaster relief for decades but as the frequency of extreme weather events rises, so do calls to decarbonize the emergency response. Sustainability may not be the only benefit to using solar in a crisis, as pv magazine discovers.

While keeping rooftop solar panels clean and regularly maintained can deter most unwelcome visitors, householders may sometimes have to take more concrete measures to avoid wildlife taking up residence.

Italian module manufacturer FuturaSun has big expansion plans in China, with the first phase of a 15 GW silicon cell fab due online in Huai’an in the first quarter of 2024, in addition to 1 GW of module production in Taizhou. Erik Eikelboom, technical adviser to FuturaSun, offers a closer look at the project.

Reports of broken module glass with no obvious cause have begun to crop up at large PV projects. Module design, glass manufacturing, and interactions in the field between modules and trackers are at play and a clear solution has yet to emerge. Early signs suggest an update to certification standards may be needed.

China’s solar industry rebounded in 2023 after years of pandemic-related sluggishness. As the year draws to a close, pv magazine looks back at key highlights of 2023 and considers the prospects for 2024.

Europe is witnessing a surge in power purchase agreements (PPAs). Over the past four years, the number of European PPA transactions has trebled. More than 180 deals were signed in 2022 alone and the trend is expected to continue, especially for solar projects.

Oversupply is hitting some solar manufacturers hard but grid constraints and labor shortages are unlikely to hold the solar industry back in 2024.