On the lookout
Turkey: Due to great insolation and the countrys proximity to Arab countries, Turkey offers interesting perspectives for the solar sector. Companies are lined up and ready to enter the market. The only thing missing is an attractive price for solar power.
Waiting for the new feed-in legislation
Italy: Despite difficulties at the start, the Italian solar market has undergone rapid development. At the Conferenza dellIndustria Solare Italiana (CIS-IT) the sector showed itself to be sanguine about the future, anticipating a new law that will help fund PV.
Spring arrival of new PV installations
Solar market overview: Spring is here, with PV installation activity set to revitalize. But the volatility around feed-in tariff changes has been quite disruptive to market developments.
Spot market for PV panels:
Modules get cheaper
Module prices: The cuts in feed-in tariffs in Germany, Italy, and France have led manufacturers to reduce module prices. Another reason is a surfeit of solar silicon.
Sound business environment
Greece: To the relief of many of those involved, the Greek photovoltaics market finally picked up speed in the second half of last year. But the European Commission has now put the Greek budget under strict control, and this financially weakened country, which now has to cut its new borrowings by 75 percent by 2012. Nonetheless, there is hardly anyone who expects the financial crisis to have a negative effect on the Greek solar industry.
Sharp drops
Ardour solar index: The selling pressure continues, due to mixed fourth quarter results in 2009 and concerns for the second half of 2010.
Pretty and efficient
Concentrating PV: As the photovoltaics market gets more competitive, new systems that combine solar electricity generation with solar hot water and heating could help reduce cost payback periods. The Center for Architecture Science and Ecology is developing a concentrating PV technology integrated into a glass facade, which also hopes to gain a competitive edge with its gem-like design.
Power from the people
United Kingdom: The first British feed-in law, to be implemented as of April 2010, is aimed at the small photovoltaic installations of private households.
Photovoltaic glitter
Microcells: Scientists at the U.S. Sandia National Laboratories have developed tiny glitter-sized photovoltaic cells that could revolutionize the way solar energy is collected and used. These micron-sized cells hold the potential for a variety of new PV applications. Sandia labs expect that the technology could be ready for commercial production in three to five years.
Solar power is a global business
CEO interview: Worldwide competition in photovoltaics is increasing. What are the strategies of producers to expand their global market share, reduce costs and ensure quality? pv magazine spoke with Shawn Qu, CEO of Ontario based Canadian Solar.
