Turkey’s solar ambitions range beyond its borders
The number of module assembly businesses in Türkiye continues to rise but, despite protectionist moves to support domestic manufacturing, consolidation appears likely. Ambitions abroad, expansion at home, and interest from Chinese suppliers, were all on show at the recent SolarEX trade fair in Istanbul.
Key takeaways from SolarEX, Istanbul
Import duties and domestic incentives continue to shape the Turkish solar market. Despite protectionism, there was a significant Chinese presence at the SolarEX trade fair as new manufacturers rely on Asian resources.
Weekend Read: Hanging in the balance
Battery storage revenues in Britain are well below historic highs but an appetite for storage capacity remains. Electricity system-operator modernization, increased competition, and new opportunities could all shape the future of British battery energy storage systems (BESS’).
After-sale support key to boosting off-grid solar
A new survey from US-based impact measurement company 60 Decibels shows off-grid energy customers are currently facing a series of challenges such as product affordability, gender inequality, customer support, further investment in minigrids, and over-indebtedness. The report, however, reveals that most users say the quality of their lives “very much improved” thanks to off-grid PV.
Must Energy launches residential hybrid inverter
The Chinese manufacturer claims its new inverter has a maximum efficiency of 97.5% and a European efficiency rating of 97%.
Weekend Read: Energy sovereignty
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.
Midsummer, Solarport partner on ground-mounted solar design
British wholesale distributor Midsummer has teamed up with solar mounting system manufacturer Solarport to integrate ground-mounted arrays into its solar design tool.
UK VAT relief on residential batteries comes into effect
Effective Feb. 1, the UK government has exempted retrofitted battery energy storage systems (BESS) from the 20% value added tax (VAT).
Weekend Read: Decarbonizing disaster response
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.
Weekend Read: Data harvesting
Mounting system manufacturers back their technology but farmers still have questions about the realities of solar on agricultural land. Ramping up research on how agrivoltaics affect farming yields could provide vital answers.
