pv magazine test – latest results for December 2018
We are happy to present the next batch of energy yield results from the outdoor test field at Xi’an, China. The December results are presented below.
A new frontier in energy
Hornsdale Power Reserve, owned and operated by Neoen, and supplied by Tesla, is the world’s largest lithium-ion battery energy storage system, with a discharge capacity of 100 MW and energy storage capacity of 129 MWh. Located near Jamestown, South Australia, it shares the same 275 kV network connection point as the 300 MW Hornsdale wind farm. It was built, writes Paul Gleeson of Aurecon, to stabilize the state’s electricity grid, to facilitate the integration of renewable energy, and help prevent load-shedding (i.e. blackout events).
Look who is closing ranks!
Owners of residential PV systems are looking for increasingly more features for their systems. VPPs, smart EV charging, and self-consumption measured by ever higher percentages of autarky have been buzzwords in the industry. The result has been a new breed of smart bidirectional inverters, sometimes dubbed hybrid inverters. And with utilities having found business models that also work out in their favor, could a new dawn of residential installations rise over the suburbias of the world?
Equipment suppliers’ solar storage synergy
As lithium-ion battery sales boom, suppliers of equipment for manufacturing photovoltaics are branching out into the storage industry. Are these ventures leading them to bankruptcy or to a breakthrough in storing solar energy?
“The first clear advantage is access to cells”
In October 2018, inverter supplier SolarEdge announced its decision to acquire 75% of South Korean battery manufacturer Kokam for $88 million. The move is indicative of power electronics manufacturers’ desire to strengthen their battery cell supply, and to capture more of the value stream. SolarEdge founder Lior Handelsman says that the low cobalt requirement of Kokam’s lithium-ion cell chemistry was one of the reasons the company was an attractive acquisition target.
Primary balancing power on wheels
The smart integration of electric vehicles has made another step forward. A consortium of The Mobility House, Nissan, and Enervie has integrated a Nissan Leaf into Germany’s primary balancing power market.
Next generation roundtables for subsidy-free PV
At Intersolar EU /The smarter E 2019, pv magazine is taking a new approach to its successful Roundtable series for the European market. Tackling an overarching theme of subsidy-free PV, the Future PV and Quality Roundtables will delve into enabling technologies and key considerations for suppliers, developers, EPCs, and investors as solar emerges from the subsidized age. With expanded networking opportunities, including the popular poster sessions, the events represent a new format to discuss solar’s new dawn.
On the Road with pv magazine
Where we’ve been: World Future Energy Summit 2019 Sprawling over four days, and a part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week events and activities, the World Future Energy Summit is not for those short on stamina. But it does present an excellent opportunity to kick off the new year in solar in one of the […]
48 hours in… Tokyo
Many PV Expo 2019 attendees probably hammered out their post-show travel itineraries weeks in advance, particularly first-time visitors to Tokyo. Some travelers – particularly those with specific cultural interests such as manga and anime – will undoubtedly gravitate toward popular sites like the Ghibli Museum and the geek mecca of Akihabara and its famed maid […]
Final thought: Subsidy free solar in sight
Around the globe today, the solar PV industry continues to rely on the Chinese market for installation volume and scale. This market achieved the deployment of an estimated 44 GW of capacity in 2018, having brushed the 50 GW mark in the previous year. The world’s most populous nation will also remain its largest PV market for […]
